Savior
by Government Patsy
Summary: Dr. Dana Scully is alone raising her 6 year old son. What happens when a certain Special Agent Fox Mulder enters their lives?
1. Big Brother

Chapter 1 – Big Brother

_Scully's Apartment_

_October 1'st 1992, 2 pm_

Dana Scully was nervous to say the least. She hoped she was doing the right thing. Ever since the father of her son had passed away, nearly two years prior, she had feared for her son's future. She knew how important it was for a young boy to have a male role model in his life. She feared that his grandfather and his two uncles he saw too rarely, wasn't able to cut it for him. He needed someone nearer. Someone he could see more often. Sure, he was merely six years old, but if she waited it could be too late. She needed what was best for her son. And she believed he needed a male he could trust. Someone who would offer their time to get to know him. Someone he could talk to about sports, cars, fights, and girls. Of course he was no way near that age yet, but one day he would be. And when that day came, Scully would make sure there would be someone he could talk to about it. She was very aware that no boy talked to his mother about stuff like that. Scully had always known of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization, and when she had talked to her friend, Ellen, about her fears for her son's future, she had reminded her of it. It had seemed like the perfect solution, but now she was having second thoughts about the whole thing. What is this guy turned out to be cruel? What if he didn't like her son? She didn't want to break his little heart again.

"Why are you nervous, mommy?" he asked her, crawling into her lap.

"Why do you think I am nervous, honey?" she asked him sweetly, stroking his auburn locks of hair out of his face.

"You're biting your lip. Just like when grandma and grandpa is coming over, and you're afraid you haven't cleaned good enough", he shared his wisdom with her, looking at her so innocently with his big blue eyes.

"Well enough, honey", she corrected him, kissing his forehead. "Mommy is nervous because your new friend is coming today and she just hopes you will like him."

"Do you think he likes cowboys and Indians?" he asked, the subject being his latest obsession.

"Most boys do."

"Then I am sure I will like him", he smiled at his mother assuring.

"Of course, honey. Why didn't I think of that", she chuckled.

There sounded a knock on the door, making the little boy gasp as he was unable to hide how excited he was.

"That's him, mommy, that's him", he yelled running towards the door to open it.

"Calm down, little man", Scully giggled as he nearly tripped over his own feet running towards the door.

As the little guy opened the door and looked judgingly up at him, Mulder could have sworn his heart stopped beating. He had been so nervous ever since he was picked out to be this boy's Big Brother. He had signed up to the program, wanting to help some youngsters with their assumingly tough youth. He had figured he would help them with their homework, maybe shoot some hoops with them. He hadn't figured they would assign him to such a young boy. He had no idea what six-year-olds did. Did they even go to school?

"Do you like cowboys and Indians?" he asked him, his blue eyes piercing his very soul, as Mulder was still standing in the door, symbolically waiting for the boy to let him in.

"Of course", Mulder answered smiling. "Indians more than cowboys though."

His answer seemed to have pleased the little fellow, because a big grin spread on his innocent, freckled face and he let him into the apartment; into his life.

"I think he's nice, mommy", he tried to whisper to someone inside the apartment, failing slightly on the whispering part.

Mulder stepped into the apartment, and was slightly shocked by the woman that greeted him there. She didn't look old enough to be a mother for once. Secondly she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid his eyes upon. She had hair reaching her shoulders, same color as her son's and the same blue eyes as him as well. She was so very short, so small; she looked like Mulder could just pick her up and run off with her. Her petite frame made her look fragile, but at the same time Mulder got the impression that this woman could do anything she set her mind to. Something about her made her look strong and independent. Realizing he must have been staring he introduced himself.

Scully couldn't help but admire the man that walked into her apartment. He was tall, dark and mysterious. He had dark, brown hair, which looked slightly messy, but at the same time she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers through it. His eyes were a dark green, mesmerizing her as he looked directly into her own eyes. Even though it was undoubtedly the most handsome eyes she had ever gazed into, something sad was hidden deep behind them. That something made him look so fragile under his impressing exterior that probably fooled most people into believing he was the strong and cheery guy he wanted to be. She snapped out of her trance as his voice kept her from getting lost in his eyes, and made her come back to reality.

"I'm Fox Mulder", he told her extending his hand to her.

"Hi Fox, I am Dana Scully", she told him taking his hand in hers.

"I would like it if you called me Mulder. I am not too fond of my first name", he explained, slowly letting go of her warm and perfect hand.

"Sure, Mulder", she smiled at him. "I guess you already met this little fellow…" she said motioning for the boy who looked examining up at his Big Brother.

"Yeah, we met", he said squatting so he was on the same level as the little boy. "So you like cowboys and Indians?"

"Yes", he said nervously taking his mother's hand.

"When I was a little boy my father and I were Indian guides", he told him smiling.

"What's an Indian guide?" the boy asked tilting his head slightly.

"It's someone who knows the woods just as well as a real Indian", Mulder explained expressively.

"Just as well as an Indian?" he asked, clearly impressed.

"Well, almost as well", Mulder grinned, standing up again. "I must admit to you… ehm… Mrs.? Scully", he attempted.

"I am a miss… or actually I am a doctor. But you don't have to be so formal, Mulder", she smiled at him, her smile making his heart skip a beat.

"Alright. Well I must admit I have never been a Big Brother before. I don't have much experience with kids, and quite honestly I was expecting an older child. I… I am really not very experienced", he tried to explain himself. "I understand if you would rather have someone more qualified assigned to you."

"You don't wanna be my friend?" the little guy asked sadly, already feeling like he had connected with his Big Brother.

After years of studying human behavior, the next thing Scully did, revealed more about her to Mulder than she would have been comfortable. As she picked her son up, hoisting him on his hip, holding him tight, and calming him down, it was clear to Mulder, that no one would ever get to hurt this little man. His mother would prevent that at any cost.

"Aw, honey, that wasn't what Mulder meant", she explained. "He is just afraid because he has never had a friend your age before. Just like you have never had a friend like him before."

"It's okay, Mulder", he said after having contemplated his mother's words. "I'll learn you how to be friends with me", he smiled wide.

"Teach, honey", Scully corrected him, kissing his cheek.

"Well…" Mulder sought assurance with Scully before he made a promise to the fragile little boy.

She nodded at him, assuring him that she was more than okay with him being her son's mentor.

"Of course I would be happy to have you as my friend. But first you need to tell me something", Mulder said serious.

"What?" he asked him nervously.

"What's your name, little guy?" Mulder smiled broadly at him.

"I'm Aidan", he said pointing to his chest, still hoisted on his mother's hip.

"Nice to meet you, Aidan", Mulder said shaking the boy's hand, making sure not to squeeze it too much.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_October 1'st 1992, 8 pm_

It had been a long day for Aidan, and he was finally asleep in his little bed, in his room. After having met his new friend, they had gone to the park. Mulder had pushed him on the swings, helped him climb a tree, and they had even gone to a museum that had a Wild West exhibition. When they got home to the apartment again Aidan had had so much to tell his mother he had hardly been able to control himself. Scully had been waiting with dinner, as they got back from their little trip. At first Mulder hadn't expected to be invited to stay for dinner. But as he was about to leave, Scully stopped him.

"Are you sure you have to leave, Mulder? I have prepared enough to eat for you as well", she told him.

"You have?" he couldn't help but being slightly surprised.

"Of course. You're giving your time to be with my son, the least I can do is feed you", she said in all honesty.

"Oh", he said taken aback by her sincerity. "He's a great kid, Scully. It's a pleasure to spend some time with him. And I am truly grateful you're giving me this chance."

"Well, you haven't done anything to make me distrust you. And Aidan really seems to like you", Scully let him know.

After they had eaten their dinner, Mulder had stayed for a movie as well. Aidan had chosen the 3'rd 'Back to the Future'-movie, which was, of course, the one that takes place in the Wild West. At the end of the movie, the little guy had fallen asleep with his head in his mother's lap, and his small legs sprawled over Mulder's bigger ones. As Mulder carried Aidan to his bed, Scully was reminded of all the things the little guy missed out on. She felt guilty for all the things she weren't able to give her son, everything a father could have given him. All the things she so desperately wanted him to have. She went after Mulder into Aidan's room, and watched as he gently laid the little boy down on his bed and carefully pulled his covers up around his shoulders. As Mulder had tugged him in, Scully went over and kissed Aidan's forehead before leaving the room after Mulder.

"Thanks for a lovely day, Scully. Aidan is truly a special kid; you have done a great job with him", he let her know.

"Thanks, Mulder", she smiled, appreciating his kind words. "Would you like a cup of coffee before you drive home? I would like to have a talk to you, if you have time."

"A cup of coffee sounds great", he agreed.

They sat down at the dinner table as Scully poured them some coffee.

"I just realized, Mulder, I don't even know what it is that you do. I take it you have a job?" she asked him.

"Yes, I am an FBI agent actually", he let her know.

"Really? Wow!" she said raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Which part of the FBI?"

Up until now Mulder had almost forgot. His day with Aidan and Scully had been so filled with happiness and laughter that he had almost forgot about the darkness that usually filled his whole existence.

"I work on a unit called the x-files", he informed her, figuring out how to explain his work without scaring her away.

"The x-files? I have never heard of something called the x-files. What is it?" she asked taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well… more or less it has to do with unexplained phenomena. UFO's, aliens, ghosts…" Scully was clearly taken aback by this as her eyebrows went to her hairline. "I… I don't know how to explain this… I…" he brought his one hand up from the table and rubbed his temples. How could he make her understand?

"What is it, Mulder?" she asked calmly taking his hand, the one that was still resting on the table, into her own. "I don't care if you work cases regarding unexplained incidents. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Please don't laugh at me, Scully", he nearly pleaded, squeezing her hand.

"Of course not, Mulder. Why would I laugh at you?" she knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

"I was twelve when it happened. My sister was eight. She just disappeared out of her bed one night. Just gone, vanished. No note, no phone calls, no evidence of anything."

"You never found her", Scully stated more than asked.

"Tore the family apart. No one would talk about it. There were no facts to confirm, nothing to offer any hope."

"I am sorry, Mulder. What did you do?"

"Eventually, I went off to school in England and got accepted into Oxford where I got a bachelor in psychology. I came back, and got recruited by the bureau. Seems I had a natural aptitude for applying behavioral models to criminal cases. My success allowed me a certain freedom to pursue my own interests. And that's when I came across the X-Files", he said turning his gaze from the table to her eyes.

"By accident?" she asked.

"At first, it looked like a garbage dump for UFO sightings, alien abduction reports, the kind of stuff that most people laugh at as being ridiculous. But I was fascinated. I read all the cases I could get my hands on, hundreds of them. I read everything I could about paranormal phenomenon, about the occult and..." he said enthusiastic before turning his gaze down towards the table again.

"What?" she encouraged him, letting her thumb caress his hand.

"I'm telling you this, Scully, because I want to be honest with you. In my research, I've worked very closely with a man named Dr. Heitz Werber and he's taken me through deep regression hypnosis. I've been able to go into my own repressed memories to the night my sister disappeared. I can recall a bright light outside and a presence in the room. I was paralyzed, unable to respond to my sister's calls for help."

Scully gulped at his words. Not because she didn't believe him. But because what he said truly scared her. She couldn't imagine going through that, having such tormenting memories, whether they were true or not, she knew they were true to Mulder.

"You think I am crazy", he concluded letting go of her hand.

"No, Mulder", she reassured him. "I don't, I promise."

"So you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?" he demanded to know.

"Well, logically, I would have to say no", she said honestly.

He nodded, having expected as much.

"Given the distances needed to travel from the far reaches of space, the energy requirements would exceed a spacecraft's capabilities…" Scully began to rant.

"Conventional wisdom", he cut her off. "Ergo, you don't believe me."

"But I do, Mulder", she said, taking his hand again.

"I don't understand", he said frowning. "How…?"

"I might not share your believes, but that doesn't mean that's not how you remember what happened that night with your sister. I believe that you truly believe what you said, Mulder. And I don't see how that makes it any less horrific for you. I have a sister myself. I don't know what I would have done if I lost her…" she told him.

"Thank you, Scully", he said. "For everything."

"You shouldn't thank me, Mulder. I should thank you. What you're doing for Aidan, you're amazing with him. Ever since his father passed away, I… I have feared he wouldn't have any males to look up to. I have family but… it's just not the same. Now, I am not saying I expect you to be his father or anything. I just think every boy should have someone to talk to about special stuff, you know?"

"I know what you mean. After my parents' divorce I often missed having a guy to look up to. It's not that my mom wasn't doing a great job, it's just… hard to explain."

"I know what you mean, Mulder. I hope you'll be there for Aidan, in the way your own father wasn't there for you."

"I want to, Scully. I promise you, I'll do my best for him. Be the best mentor possible. He deserves it."

"He does", she agreed, beaming at Mulder. It felt so nice to be understood, truly understood.

"By the way, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, of course", she agreed, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Aidan; it's not a very usual name. Don't get me wrong, I really like it, it fits him, I just meant to ask you; how did you come up with it?" Mulder asked her smiling.

"Well… Before his birth I had looked through billions of books with names. Every time I read a book, or watched the TV, I would look for the perfect name for my baby. But it was like none of the names meant anything to me. They didn't tell me anything about my child. When I gave birth to him, two weeks after my due date, I still hadn't found a name. But my little baby…" she smiled at the memory. "He screamed from the second he was born. He didn't cry like normal babies, he screamed. As they cut the umbilical cord, as they cleaned him, right up until the moment they brought him to me. As I took him in my arms he just stopped screaming. He had the reddest, curly hair", she said in awe remembering. "And as I looked at him I knew he was Aidan. I had remembered that name for some reason. It's Irish, it means little fire."

"That's beautiful, Scully", Mulder smiled, feeling somewhat moved by her love to her son.

Scully tried to suppress a yawn but it didn't manage to escape Mulder's detective eyes.

"It's late. I should probably head off", he said getting up from his chair, finishing the rest of his coffee in one gulp.

"It was nice meeting you, Mulder. I hope to see you again soon", she told him as she walked him out.

"Well… I was thinking since it's Sunday tomorrow, and I have nothing to do. Do you think it would be alright if I took Aidan to the aquarium? You could come as well", he smiled at her.

"Yes. That sounds nice, Mulder", she returned his smile. "I am so happy to have met you", she let him know and gave him a hug.

"What can I say?" he grinned as she let go of him again. "Your kid made my heart melt like butter."

"Who would have known?" she kidded. "The G-man has a soft spot", she giggled.

"Please don't tell that to anyone, Scully", he pleaded with her, making her giggle even more.

"Goodnight, Mulder", she told him giggling. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep, see you tomorrow", he said smiling and backed out the door.

On his way home he couldn't stop thinking about Scully's words. _The G-man has a soft spot_, he chuckled to himself remembering. Aidan wasn't his only soft spot though; it seemed as if a certain Dr. Scully had worked her magic on him as well as her kid.


	2. Birthday

**Thank you guys for all the wonderful reviews. I'm glad you like this story so far and I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update it. I have been to England on vacation and at my grandmother's, who doesn't have internet. I'll try to get the next chapter updated within next week though. **

**I'm sorry, A. I know you don't like these long chapters. I hope you'll enjoy it anyway though ;)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2 – Birthday<p>

_Scully's Apartment_

_October 11'th 1992, 7.25 pm_

It was weird how fast Mulder had become a part of their lives. It seemed like they had known him forever even though it was in fact merely just a little over a week ago they had met him for the first time. Aidan already had him as his own personal hero and was sure that whatever Mulder did was the right thing to do. Of course this worried Scully a little, but so far Mulder had really proven to be a great mentor. And she had to admit that when he would drop little innuendos at her it made her heart flutter in a way it hadn't in a long time. She realized she needed to be around adults more often. The only adults she saw were her colleagues, her family, and her friend Ellen. Ellen was a single mother as well and sometimes Scully wondered if they would be friends otherwise. Not that she didn't like Ellen, or got the impression that Ellen didn't like her. It just seemed like the only thing they had in common were their kids. And the fact that they were both single, and raising a child on their own.

"Can I buy a gift for Mulder?" Aidan asked his mom, standing next to her as she was working on her laptop.

"What do you wanna buy him?" Scully asked, shutting the computer down and pulling her son into her lap.

"I don't know", he contemplated. "Something nice!"

"You don't have to give him a gift, Aidan. He knows you like him."

"But it's his birthday. People always give me something when it's my birthday!"

"It's Mulder's birthday?" Scully asked surprised. Mulder hadn't mentioned this to her.

"Yes", Aidan nodded. "On Saturday. I asked him when it was and he told me. But he's not having a party."

"That's the day after tomorrow, Aidan. We could buy something tomorrow after I pick you up from school, would that be okay?"

"Yes", he smiled his toothless little smile at her. "Can I call him?"

"It's 7.30, you have to go to bed soon, Aidan", she told him smoothing down his hair.

"Please, mommy?" he made his puppy dog eyes and looked very sad.

"Alright. But don't tell him about the gift, Aidan. That's a surprise, okay?"

"Yes", he answered her happily as he ran to the phone in the living room.

Scully helped him dial the number but as Mulder didn't pick up they tried his cell.

"Mulder."

"Hi Mulder, it's me, Aidan."

"Oh, hey little man! What's up?"

Aidan started telling him about his day and told him about how Emily from his school had ruined the tower of toys he had built during play time. When Mulder said she was probably just in love with him, it caused Aidan to blush and yell "Ew!"

"Well, I do think it's your bedtime now, pal. You wanna put your mom on?"

"Okay, Mulder. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Aidan. Sleep tight."

As Scully took the phone, she gave Aidan a little kiss on the cheek and told him to go brush his teeth and put his pajamas on.

"Hi Mulder", she finally told him.

"Hey Scully."

"I am sorry if we interrupted something."

"No of course not. Why would you?"

"Well we called you home phone first but you didn't answer. Aidan just really wanted to talk to you so we called your cell. I hope that was okay."

"Yeah of course, Scully. You can call anytime. Actually I am in Montana right now."

"You are?" she asked surprised. "Why?"

"A case", he sighed. "I finished it earlier today. I am at the airport right now. My plane is leaving in thirty minutes."

"So…" Scully wanted to know what he was doing for his birthday, but she didn't want him to know that she knew it was his birthday. She didn't want him to get the impression, that she asked Aidan personal questions about him as if she was interested in him in some romantic way. "I was wondering if you're doing anything this Saturday. Aidan has talked about going to the cinema to watch 'Beethoven'."

"That sounds great. You want to come with us?" Mulder asked cheery.

Scully didn't answer right away. Had Aidan been mistaking when he said Saturday was Mulder's birthday?

"Scully? Hello?"

"I am still here", she remembered to speak. "Mulder, are you sure you're free this Saturday?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I…" Mulder stopped talking a few seconds. "Aidan has told you it's my birthday, hasn't he?"

"Ehm… Yes. Yes he has. I just wanted to know what you're doing", she admitted, thankful he couldn't see her blush over the phone.

"You could have just asked, Scully", he chuckled.

"I know. I am sorry, Mulder. So what are you doing?"

"Well, I am not doing anything. I know it was something you made up, but I would really like to take you and Aidan to the movies."

"Mulder, it's your birthday! You don't have to spend it with us. I am sure there's someone you would rather be with to celebrate."

"Scully…" Mulder suddenly sounded uncharacteristically serious. "Truth be told; I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday, than with you… and your son", he remembered to add.

"Alright, Mulder", Scully smiled into the phone. "Be here by 5.30 pm Saturday and we'll make sure you have a great birthday."

"Thanks, Scully", he said smiling himself. "You know you don't have to, right?"

"I know, Mulder. I want to", she said sweetly.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_October 13'th 1992, 5.22 pm_

"You're a bit early, Mulder", Scully smiled at him as she opened the door and let him in.

"I hope that's not a bad thing", he said, entering the apartment, as he gave her a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

"Mulder", she said in awe – it had been about 7 years since a man had bought her flowers. "Thanks."

"It's the least I could do", he smiled charmingly.

Scully noticed he had dressed rather well. He was wearing black slacks, and a beige turtleneck, which gave her a hot sensation deep within. "Oh, I am sorry!"

"Sorry?" he said questioning.

"Happy birthday, Mulder", she smiled beaming at him, and placed the bouquet on the nearby table, so she could give him a birthday hug.

"Thank you, Scully", he smiled into her hair, as he held her tight against him.

They stayed in their embrace almost a full minute. Both enjoying the feel of each other – the way she fit perfectly under his chin and how his chest and steady heartbeat could have lulled her to sleep standing up – before Aidan came running from his room.

"Mulder, Mulder!" he grinned making Mulder and Scully step out of their hug, both blushing slightly. "I have a gift for you!"

"Aidan!" Scully sighed. "You were supposed to wait until after dinner", she reminded him.

"Oh", Aidan said blushing as well. "I forgot."

"You really got me a gift?" Mulder asked Aidan squatting down in front of him.

Aidan nodded smiling.

"That's so sweet of you, Aidan", Mulder smiled back.

"Do you want it now?" Aidan asked, eager for him to have his gift.

"Well…" Mulder looked up to Scully to see if it was okay, and he got a nod of approval. "I would love to", he answered Aidan.

"I'll just go get it", he yelled to Mulder as he ran back to his room.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Scully", Mulder told her sheepish. "You having me over is more than enough."

"Aidan insisted", she smiled at him. "He's very fond of you, you know?"

"Really?" Mulder asked with pride. "He's such a great kid, Scully. You must be very proud."

"I am", she agreed.

Aidan returned with a gift wrapped in green gift paper and gave it to Mulder. Mulder sat down on a chair in the kitchen, starting to unwrap it. Both Aidan and Scully were watching him.

"Hurry, Mulder", Aidan told him inpatient.

"Calm down, Aidan", Scully told him grinning with a hand on his shoulder.

"Wow", Mulder said as he saw the Knicks tickets inside the box he had just opened. "These are great seats!" he exclaimed happy. "But there's only two…" his smiled faded and he frowned.

"Yeah, it's for you and Aidan", Scully smiled.

"You don't wanna come too?" he asked her looking slightly hurt.

"Actually…" she said smirking. "I have a third ticket in case you should say that."

"Scully", he chuckled. "What if I hadn't said anything?"

"I would have sold the ticket and let the two of you go", she shrugged.

"I would love for you to come", he said in a low voice and she saw the twinkle in his eyes at the pun in his words.

"Thanks, Aidan", Mulder suddenly remembered as Scully was in shock at his suggestive statement. "I love my gift. Did you choose it?"

"Mommy helped me", he told Mulder feeling proud.

"Give me a hug, buddy", Mulder told him and reached out for him.

Aidan happily agreed and put his arms around Mulder's neck. Aidan pulled his head back shortly to kiss Mulder's cheek, and it broke Scully's heart to see this. He must have really missed that, she thought. Mulder was a little perplexed about the boy's sudden show of emotions but as he saw the tears well up in his mother's eyes he understood fully. He padded Aidan's back, and let him sit in his lap as he pulled out of the hug.

"Mulder?" the fragile boy asked.

"Yeah?" Mulder answered.

"Do you think we'll be friends forever?" he asked innocently.

Scully couldn't bear it anymore and went back to the stove to prepare dinner. She tried hard not to spill any tears.

"I promise you we'll be friends forever", Mulder told him and combed his hair back from his face.

It wasn't long until the steaks, potatoes, and vegetables Scully had prepared were ready and Aidan reluctantly had to move down from Mulder.

"Oh, this is good, Scully", Mulder nearly moaned as he ate with eager and delight.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it", she chuckled at his inner caveman.

Aidan looked in horror as Mulder had finished his third steak and was finally full. He sat back in his chair and rubbed his stomach probably regretting having eaten that last steak.

"I can't remember the last time someone prepared a feast like this for me", Mulder told Scully as she was clearing the table.

"Well, I'm sure there must have been at least one special little lady who has cooked for you, Mulder."

"There was one", he said grinning. "Her name was Mrs. Mulder."

"Mulder!" Scully chuckled. "I meant besides your mother."

"No one but you, Scully", he smiled at her. "You know I would help you clean up, if I could move, right?"

"That's alright, Mulder", she chuckled. "Besides it's _your_ birthday! I'm sure you mother wouldn't have wanted you to lift a finger."

"Oh, she would have kicked my ass, if I didn't!"

Both Mulder and Scully laughed. Aidan returned from the bathroom and wanted Mulder to play Star Wars with him. He eagerly showed him his toy light sabers, and told him he could be Darth Vader.

"Aidan, it's Mulder's birthday", Scully told him. "You can play with him another day, okay?"

"It's alright, Scully. I want to play Star Wars. But only if you're Princess Leia", he smirked.

"Yeah, mommy!" Aidan exclaimed. "Please, mommy, please!"

"Please, Scully!" Mulder added.

Scully felt her heart soften as she saw Mulder and Aidan looking at her with what could only be described as the two cutest pleading expressions in the entire universe.

"Alright", she sighed. "I can be Princess Leia. But I am not wearing a gold bikini!" she added, with a warning finger.

"C'mon, Scully, you know you want to", Mulder winked at her.

Deciding to ignore Mulder's innuendo they began to play Star Wars in the middle of the living room. Scully played Princess Leia and Yoda, Aidan played Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca, while Mulder played Darth Vader and Han Solo. It had been a while since Scully had seen the movies but she was pretty sure they skipped a lot of scenes and added a few as well. She certainly didn't remember Chewbacca getting mad at Han Solo for spending too much time with Leia and then getting kidnapped by Darth Vader. Luckily Han Solo and Leia rescued him while Darth Vader was sleeping, and Chewbacca forgave Han as he told him that Han and Leia wanted to adopt him. Of course Han and Leia would have to marry before they could adopt Chewie, but luckily Luke could marry them because apparently that's one of the perks of being a Jedi knight.

"Han Solo do you wanna marry Princess Leia?" Father Luke aka. Aidan asked.

"Yep", Mulder said smiling, trying to stay true to his role as Han Solo and not laugh.

"And Princess Leia, do you wanna marry Han Solo?" Aidan asked Scully.

"Yes", Scully said, feeling herself blush as she was pretending marrying Mulder.

"Good, now kiss each other!"

"Let's just pretend we already have", Scully said, avoiding eye contact with Mulder.

"Mommy! You have to kiss when you've been married!"

"Aidan", Mulder cut in. "If your mother doesn't want to, she doesn't have to, okay?"

"But…"

"I think we're done playing anyway, Aidan", Mulder said softly. "I do believe it's your bedtime."

Mulder looked to Scully for confirmation, but Scully was still contemplating what had happened. Mulder hadn't thought she would want to kiss him. Of course, she wouldn't in front of Aidan and during a game of Star Wars. But she would still have liked Mulder to want it. He was so flirty all the time but maybe he really didn't mean anything by it. Maybe he was like that with everyone. She felt stupid for having felt special. But, nonetheless, Mulder was still a great friend and a great influence on Aidan. Scully pulled her act together, and answered Mulder.

"Actually it's past your bedtime already, Aidan", Scully said sounding as calm as she had opted for.

"But mom…"

"Go brush your teeth and put on your pajamas, Aidan."

Sighing he moved towards the bathroom.

"I'm sorry about that, Mulder", Scully said, feeling she should say something about it.

"About what, Scully?" Mulder looked truly confused.

"About Aidan wanting us to… kiss", she blushed.

"Oh, that's alright, Scully", Mulder chuckled. "I thought it was wrong for our first kiss to be in front of Aidan. And I didn't want it to be a pretend kiss. I would like it now though", he said in a low voice moving closer towards Scully.

"Mulder", she grinned, getting that feeling of being special again, but this time tenfold of what she had felt before.

"You're not seeing anyone, Scully. God knows, I'm not seeing anyone. We're great friends, so what's wrong with a little kiss? Besides; it _is_ my birthday. I get a wish, don't I?" he said, moving a strand piece of hair behind her ear.

He couldn't believe how courageous he was or how fast his heart was beating. This was Dana Scully! She wasn't just any woman. He had only known her for like ten days but already he knew that. She was special and she was to be treated special. It had been a while since Mulder had dated. Right after Diana had left him, he had been out on a few dates. A friend had asked if he should set him up, and Mulder had agreed. The first date had gone okay. They had eaten a quiet dinner in a quiet restaurant and had led a polite conversation. Her name had been Helena and she had been a high school teacher. She was smart and he had enjoyed talking to her. There just hadn't been that spark that made him want to find out more about her or jump her bones. As they were sitting in his car outside her apartment she had told him that she had recently had to divorce her husband of five years, the only man she had ever loved and been with, because he had had an affair. Multiple affairs in fact. She was heartbroken and she didn't want a relationship at the time being. As she had told him this she had asked him if he wanted to come in for a cup of coffee. Mulder understood what she wanted, and in an attempt of getting over his own broken heart he had done something he had never done before. He had made love to someone he wasn't in love with. It had been safe and gentle, yet satisfying to some degree. As it was over with he rolled off of her and lay with his back to her. Silent tears had strolled down his cheek and into the pillow. As he had heard Helena's soft snoring he had gotten dressed and walked down to his car. He felt dirty, even though he knew it was what Helena had wanted as well. A few weeks after his first date he had had a second one. This hadn't gone okay at all. The woman had been a pain in the ass to say the least. Her name had been Brandy and she had been an architect. He felt like she was screaming at him when she talked and she looked absolutely ridiculous with her bleach blond hair, her pink lipstick, and her way too tight top. At the end of the date she had tried to kiss Mulder, and he had told her he didn't think it was gonna work out between them. At this statement she had been so offended that she had slapped him across the face before storming off. Since then Mulder hadn't been on a single date.

Now here he was making a pass on Scully: the woman who could quite possibly be the one for him. He didn't doubt that no woman could ever measure up to her. He couldn't dream of ever being with anyone else than her now that she owned his heart. There was only one doubt he had concerning her. And it was whether Scully felt the same way about him. He was about to find out as he lowered his head against hers. So far she wasn't pulling back. She looked anticipating to his lips. Right before their lips could meet a voice caused them to pull apart.

"I'm done!" Aidan announced reentering the living room in his green pajamas. "Mulder, do you wanna read for me?" he asked waving his favorite book in his hand.

"Yeah, of course", Mulder said, before looking apologetic to Scully.

She just smiled at him. She couldn't believe what had been about to happen between her and Mulder. Was he just fooling around or did he actually like her? She wasn't sure. She was sure that he liked her in a friendly manner and that he found her attractive. But if he could ever love her as more than a friend, she doubted. It would break her heart if he wasn't in love with her, but it would be even worse if he wasn't in her life at all. She decided to put her feelings aside and just have fun with Mulder. If she never told him about her feelings, she wouldn't have to risk having her heart broken. Instead she would have hope that maybe one day he would tell her that he loved her, and if he didn't she would have a great friend. She felt stupid for having felt in love with someone she hadn't even known two weeks.

"Hey", Mulder's voice broke her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing", she lied smiling. "Is Aidan sleeping?"

"Yeah", Mulder smiled as he sat down on the couch next to her. "I only got to page three before his snoring interrupted me."

"It has been an exciting day for him", Scully smiled. "And he should have been in bed an hour ago."

"It has been a great day, Scully. Thank you so much for doing this for me", Mulder said taking her hand.

"It was my pleasure, Mulder. I know we haven't known each other for long but I already feel that we're great friends", she told him, looking to the floor.

He lifted her chin, with the hand that wasn't holding hers, so her eyes met his. "I'm glad you feel that way, Scully", he told her smiling. "I… I trust you. And usually I don't trust anyone. You're without a doubt the best friend I've ever had."

"We should get together more often, Mulder. I mean, I only see you when you're with Aidan. I only talk to you, when Aidan wants to talk to you."

"I know, Scully. I've been thinking about that myself. Tonight is the first time that we've spent time together, without Aidan as an excuse."

"How about Monday for lunch, Mulder? I usually eat alone in my office or out with a colleague…"

"I would love to, Scully", Mulder said happily.

"Great. It's a date then. I mean, not a date-date…" Scully panicked.

"It's alright", Mulder chuckled, giving her hand a calming squeeze. "I know what you mean, Scully."

"Good", she grinned. "Now, do you still want that birthday kiss?"

She smirked as she saw his eyes widen in surprise.

"Of course", he said, moving closer to her on the couch, taking both her hands in his.

Their lips met for a few seconds but they both felt like their bodies were on fire. They smiled at each other before Mulder initiated a second kiss. This one was a bit longer than their first one and they moved their lips against each other. Scully didn't realize she had moved her hands but as they pulled out of the kiss they were on Mulder's chest. His own hands had moved to her hips.

"This has been my best birthday ever", Mulder smiled leaning back in the couch.

Scully just smiled and leaned back in his embrace.

The next thing she knew she was awoken by Mulder tracing his finger across her face. She was lying on top of him on the couch.

"Good morning", Mulder whispered as she opened her eyes.

"Mulder?" Scully felt confused.

"We must have fallen asleep", he said tightening his arms around her.

Scully realized she had put her hand under his beige sweater and was caressing his bare chest. She couldn't help but moan at the feeling of his well trained upper body. She could feel the effect that the intimacy was having on Mulder as well; it was poking her in the stomach.

"Mommy!" she heard Aidan yell from his room. "Mommy, mommy!"

Scully got up quickly and ran to Aidan's room.

"What is it, Aidan?" she asked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"It's Mulder!" Aidan cried.

He was sitting up in his bed covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

"What about Mulder?" Scully asked calmly sitting down next to him pulling him into her embrace.

"He was burning", Aidan cried. "He was screaming for me to help him, but the flames kept going higher and higher and I couldn't stop it."

"It's alright, Aidan", Scully stroked his back. "It was just a bad dream. Mulder's alright."

"How do you know?" Aidan kept crying. "Maybe he's burning right now!"

"No, Aidan", Scully kept her voice calm. "Mulder's in the living room right now, I just saw him."

"He is?" Aidan's tears stopped and he looked to his mother with his red puffy eyes, wanting her words to be true.

"Yes, Aidan. Come on, let's go see him", Scully said taking his little hand and walking back to the living room.

Mulder was now sitting up on the couch and his hair was even messier than usual. Scully couldn't help but smile at the surprise in Mulder's eyes as Aidan ran to him and jumped into his lap.

"I thought you were burning, Mulder!" he exclaimed as he gave him a big hug.

"Burning?" Mulder asked surprised, but chuckling.

"Apparently Aidan dreamt you were on fire", Scully told him.

"That sounds scary, Aidan", Mulder told the boy as he comforted him.

Aidan told him all about the dream, and Mulder promised he would never balance a lit candle on top of his head.

Before long Aidan had fallen back to sleep. It was only 5.30 so Mulder carried him back to his bed.

"I should get going, Scully", he told her as they closed the door to Aidan's room behind them.

"You don't want breakfast before you leave? I could make something."

"No thanks. I feel like I have overstayed my visit already", he smiled.

"You're welcome anytime, Mulder. We enjoy your company."

"Good. I enjoy your company as well. But I should really be going now. See you for lunch tomorrow?"

"Of course", she smiled, and walked him to the door. "Do you know where Hugo's Diner is?"

"Yeah, I know it."

"Let's meet there at 1 then."

"Sounds great", Mulder smiled as he backed out the door. "Bye, Scully", he took her hands.

"Bye", she smiled and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Please go to my profile and vote for 'Savior' as your fave of my fictions - in case that's how you feel. <strong>

**Thanks for reading - please leave a review with your thoughts or PM if you have any advice for me on my writing or on the story in general. Peace out! **


	3. Lunch Date

**As promised a quick update. I apoligize for the very long chapter. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 3 – Lunch Date<p>

_Hugo's Diner_

_October 15'th 1992, 12.57 pm_

It had been a slow day at the practice so the other doctors had talked Scully into taking the rest of the day off. She had arrived about ten minutes early at the diner but finally Mulder showed up. Ever since he had left yesterday morning Scully hadn't been able to stop smiling and yet she couldn't wait to see him again. She had honestly never felt so dependent on someone in her whole life ever before and the fact that she now depended on Mulder both scared her and gave her a feeling of being safe.

"Hi", Mulder greeted her, sliding into the booth she had chosen.

From the looks of it, he hadn't stopped smiling either.

"Hey, Mulder", she greeted him back. "Busy day at the office?"

"Not really", he shrugged sighing. "It's been quite boring actually."

"I bet everything but field work bores you", she chuckled.

"Sometimes field work bores me as well", he stated not telling her that this day had been extra boring due to the fact that he simply couldn't wait to see her again. Every time he looked at his wristwatch, expecting hours to have passed, it had only been minutes. "What about you, Scully? A lot of sick kids, today?"

"No, not really. Actually they gave me the rest of the day off because there was nothing to do."

"Oh. So your work day is actually over now? Lucky you!" he stated. "I can't believe I have to go back to the office while you get to go home and do whatever you want."

"I'll probably just do some laundry, Mulder", she rolled her eyes.

"You sure understand how to live it up, don't you, Dr. Scully?" he chuckled. "I would rather attend the longest most boring meeting in FBI history than do my laundry."

"Boys will be boys", Scully rolled her eyes again but Mulder could see the smile tugging at her lips.

Before long a waiter emerged and took their order. Scully made a comment about Mulder needing to eat healthier and Mulder responded with a comment about Scully needing to begin eating real food.

"So is Aidan with your mother right now?" Mulder asked, knowing that she usually looked after him when Scully wasn't able to.

"Yes, he is. Usually I work long hours Mondays and Wednesdays, so my mother picks him up from school and stays with him until I'm home."

"That's nice of her", Mulder nods smiling, taking another sip of his drink.

"It is", Scully agrees. "Sometimes I feel like a bad mother. For not being able to take care of my own kid."

"Scully!" Mulder said surprised, taking her hand. "You're a great mom, you should know that! I've seen you with Aidan. He adores you, Scully."

"I know", Scully smiled slightly at his words. "It's just… my mother never needed any help and she had four kids."

"Well, she never had to work, did she?"

"No, she didn't", Scully agreed. "I still worry though; about not being a good enough parent for Aidan. I'm the only parent he has, if I fail… I… I just want him to have the best childhood possible."

"The fact that you have these doubts, Scully, that's what makes you the best parent Aidan could ever wish for."

Tears welled up in Scully's eyes as she realized that Mulder was right. "Thank you", she told him smiling.

"Hey, I'm just stating the obvious, Scully. Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the truth that's right in front of you."

"I guess so", she chuckled.

The waiter returned with Mulder's burger and fries and Scully's salad. They carried on with their conversation as they started eating.

"It must be hard, raising a child on your own, not knowing if you're doing it right. How long has it been since your husband passed?"

"My husband?" Scully chuckled. "I was never married, Mulder!"

"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume…"

"It's alright, Mulder", she cut him off; smiling reassuringly at him to tell him everything was alright. "James past away nearly two years ago a couple of weeks before Christmas. A motorcycle accident", she said the last three words with disgust, shaking her head.

"I take it he wasn't being too careful", Mulder spoke gingerly.

"No, he wasn't", Scully took a deep breath. "James and I weren't together. Well, obviously we were at some point, but we broke it off quite soon after I discovered I was pregnant."

"He didn't want a child?" Mulder asked surprised.

"Well we hadn't exactly planned on one but he wanted it alright", she sighed.

"Then why did you break it off?" Mulder asked without thinking. "I'm sorry, Scully. I know it's none of my business…"

"It's okay, Mulder", she smiled. "Friends, remember? I want you to know."

Mulder just smiled and waited for her to tell him what had happened.

"Well, I was 22 and I was studying Physics at the time. James was a couple of years older. He had travelled Europe after high school and he had already dropped out of a couple of studies. At the time he was majoring in Art History, I think. Anyway, we had been going out for about five months and we had always been… well, careful. But, as you probably know, condoms are only 97 % safe. One morning I was feeling sick. I thought it was a case of the flu but since it passed within a few hours I thought nothing of it. The next morning, however, it was the same thing. After almost a week of this, I was suspecting I might be carrying. Even after four home pregnancy tests, I couldn't believe it. It wasn't until I had gone to my personal physician, and he confirmed it, that I began to think about what to do. I knew it would be hard to stay in school and raise a child at the same time. And James was still a kid himself. I knew he wouldn't be much help, but I loved him, nonetheless, and I wanted to have the child. Even if James wouldn't want to be a father, I would choose my baby. I had decided this, as I went to tell him. I had only talked to James on the phone the past week. I had told him I was down with the flu and that we shouldn't get together before I was feeling well again. The next morning as I walked down the hallway towards his apartment to tell him… I saw him kissing with a woman in the door. It was obvious that she had spent the night", Scully's smile was sad now.

"I'm so sorry, Scully", Mulder gave her hands a comforting squeeze.

"I just stood there as she walked by me. I remember she was giggling to herself, but it felt like she was laughing at me. After a couple of minutes I pulled myself together and walked to his apartment. He was surprised to see me, he tried to hug me but I pushed him away. I told him to sit down and I told him about the baby and about what I had already decided. As I told him it was up to him if he wanted to take part in the baby's life, he sat there stunned, thinking for a few seconds. Before he could say anything I told him that I knew he had been unfaithful to me and that I didn't want to be in a relationship with him anymore. I told him he could still be the father of the baby if he chose to but I would be a single mother."

"That must have taken some willpower, Scully. I mean; to not kick his ass when you had just found out about that other woman."

"It did", she chuckled. "But it took even more willpower to not cry in front of him. I had really loved him. I knew he wasn't very mature but I had never suspected him to be with someone else. I had just had my heart broken but I knew I had to tell him about the baby."

"So did he see Aidan a lot while he was alive?"

"He told me right away that he wanted to be there for the baby. That made me somewhat happy; I've never wanted my child to be without a father. We didn't see each other much during my pregnancy, maybe a couple of times a month. He would stop by for a cup of tea and I would tell him how the baby was doing. The day after I had given birth he came to see me and the child. I told him I had already named him Aidan. If he had something against it he never mentioned it. He would stop by a couple of times a week and spend a couple of hours with Aidan but he never asked about spending more time with him or maybe taking him for a weekend or something. I wasn't keen on not being able to look after my baby so I didn't push him on the matter. When Aidan was four months old James' dad offered him a job in the family business. That meant he had to move to Chicago. After that he only visited every other weekend. Soon it became just once a month and eventually Aidan only saw him on special occasions. James was there for every birthday and every Christmas but that was it. I know he loved Aidan. He just wasn't ready to be a father. I was glad that he tried the best he could and that he called often to hear how he was doing."

"It sounds like he could have tried a bit harder", Mulder muttered, afraid he might offend Scully.

"Maybe you're right", she nodded. "But Aidan adored his father. He never asked why he wasn't there more often. Of course he wasn't that old at the time, but it seemed like he just enjoyed the time he had with James and the conversations they had over the phone."

"How did Aidan take James' death? Did he understand what was happening at all?" Mulder instantly worried about the little guy that meant so much to him already.

"I was so mad at James for being so reckless. He wasn't even wearing a helmet the night of the accident. I always warned him about that bike", Mulder saw the anger rise in Scully as she spoke. "I told him how dangerous it was and begged him to be careful. He would just wink and say; 'Don't worry, babe'. I explained it as good as I could to Aidan, without telling him how stupid James had been. I said that there had been an accident and that his dad wasn't calling or coming to see him anymore. Aidan seemed to understand and he cried for so long. He was scared I would have an accident as well and it took months before he could sleep alone again. He still has nightmares sometimes. Like the other night when he dreamt that you were on fire. He knows that there are things in this world that he can't stop from happening. And it scares him so much."

"It scares all of us, Scully", Mulder caressed her cheek. "And I'm sorry Aidan had to find out so soon what a scary world we live in."

"I feel like I should have been able to protect him more…"

"Hey, you did what you were supposed to do, Scully", Mulder said comforting. "You haven't done anything wrong. Sometimes innocence is lost a lot sooner than what's the natural order of things. That doesn't make you a bad mother. Aidan is a wonderful kid, in spite of what has happened. In my eyes, that makes you an even better and stronger mother than most, Scully."

"I guess you had to face some horrors quite young yourself", Scully stated.

"You could say that", Mulder agreed with a sad smile himself. The sad smile soon turned into a smirk though. "So how young were you when you lost your innocence, Dr. Scully?"

Rolling her eyes once more but not quite able to hide a smile or a blush she pulled her hands out of his. He just kept smiling and they carried on with some humorous and fairly lighter conversation. Scully couldn't remember when she had giggled last. She must have been in high school. Mulder's cheeks were sore from smiling – this obviously stated that he really didn't smile that much but also that Dana Scully sure knew how to make it happen.

"Oh, God!" Scully suddenly exclaimed as the clock on the wall of the diner had caught her eye. "It's already 2.30, Mulder! Your work…"

"Don't worry about it, Scully", Mulder shrugged. "As long as I have my report written up by tomorrow morning I won't be in any trouble. I doubt anyone would even notice if I didn't show up for the rest of the day."

"Surely you would never skip work, now would you Agent Mulder?" Scully feigned surprise.

"I wouldn't dream of it", he chuckled.

They had both finished their food a long time ago and Mulder read the number on the check which was already lying on their table before picking out his wallet to pay with cash.

"You want me to get half of that?" Scully asked reaching for her own purse before Mulder's hand stopped hers from moving.

"That's alright, Scully", he smiled. "Let's say this one's on me."

"But…"

"You've fed me more times than I can count, Scully."

"Mulder", she laughed. "It's only been like four or five times."

"Well, math was never my strong side", he chuckled himself.

"Okay, you can get this one", Scully finally agreed. "But I do think you should get back to work now, Mulder. I wouldn't want you in trouble because of me."

"We'll have to do this again sometime, Scully", he said as they got out of the booth.

"Maybe we'll make it a shorter lunch break next time though", she suggested, giggling again.

"Oh, alright", he agreed smiling, placing his hand on her lower back as he guided her out of the diner.

They stopped by his car where Mulder pulled Scully into a loving hug. She sneaked her arms around his waist and they stayed in the embrace for a full minute. At last Scully pulled out of his arms.

"Get back to work, Mulder", she smiled at him.

"Alright, alright", he rolled his eyes but chuckled.

"Bye, Mulder", she said and turned around to walk towards her own car.

"Hey, wait!" Mulder called out to her, and as Scully turned around to see what he wanted, his lips caught hers in an innocent kiss.

"Bye, Scully", he smirked and finally got into his car.

Scully waved at him as he drove off back to work, before walking back to her own car. As she opened the car door and was about to get in, a voice stopped her.

"Dana!" a familiar voice called her name.

Turning around and closing the door again, Scully saw her friend Ellen walking towards her.

"Ellen! Hi", Scully greeted her with a smile as she joined her by her car. "What are you doing here?"

"I was having lunch with a colleague", she said. "Who was that gorgeous man you were with yourself?"

"Ellen!" Scully chuckled blushing. "That was Aidan's Big Brother! His name's Fox Mulder."

"The FBI agent?" Ellen remembered. "Why didn't you tell me you were going out?"

"We're not!" Scully defended herself. "We're just friends, Ellen."

"Friends?" Ellen laughed, almost hysterical. "You were holding hands, Dana. You were giggling like a school girl and he was practically having his way with you with his eyes. And don't think that I didn't see the hug or the kiss."

"Ellen, really, we're only friends, very good friends but nothing more than that. And I'm sure Mulder would never look at me in such a way you suggest."

"Are you serious, Dana?" Ellen looked absolutely puzzled. "I mean, he kissed you, Dana! Do you just kiss like that all the time?"

"Not all the time", Scully chuckled. "I know it sounds odd but we just have a special relationship, that's all, an unorthodox friendship."

"How long have you known him, Dana?" Ellen was downright frowning now.

"A couple of weeks", Scully shrugged. "You should see him with Aidan though. The other day, Mulder came around for dinner, and he gave Aidan a hug. And Aidan… he kissed Mulder. Just like he used to kiss his dad", Scully said with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Dana", Ellen smiled and pulled her friend into a hug. "That's really sweet."

"He's a good guy, Ellen. I know it doesn't make any sense but he makes everything better. It all seems less complicated when he's there for some reason and I just… I don't wanna loose that by questioning the small oddities of our friendship. I don't care what it looks like to anyone else, it's like I've finally found what's been missing in Aidan's and my life."

"I'm happy for you, Dana. And I didn't mean to imply anything, really. I'm sorry for being so damn nosy", she sighed apologetic.

"It's okay, Ellen", Scully was finally smiling again. "I'm sure I would be nosy as well if I saw you having lunch with an attractive man."

"Oh, so you think that he's attractive?" Ellen waggled her eyebrows.

"Ellen!" Scully chuckled at her friend's persistence. "You said yourself he's gorgeous!"

"Oh, Dana!" Ellen exclaimed startling Scully. "I just had a great idea!"

"Oh no", Scully muttered but if Ellen noticed she didn't let on.

"… You should have a small dinner party for me and Trent and you could invite Mulder as well. Then I could meet this special friend of yours and I'm sure Aidan and Trent would have a good time…" Ellen ranted on.

"Sure", Scully sighed, knowing Ellen wouldn't stop talking about it before Scully agreed.

Anyway, how bad could a night spend with Mulder turn out? Even if Ellen would give them a hard time Scully was sure it would be pretty good.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_October 19'th 1992, 5.48 pm_

Wednesday Mulder and Scully had had lunch together again and Mulder had agreed to come over for dinner Friday night and meet Scully's friend. Thursday he had dropped by unannounced and asked if it would be alright if he took Aidan out for a few hours. Since Aidan had already finished his homework Scully had agreed and Mulder had taken him to the Gelato shop down the corner and they had gone for a walk in the park afterwards. Mulder had stayed for some spaghetti and after he had read a bedtime story for Aidan he had been on his way again. Not without planting a little peck on Scully's cheek though.

"Early as always", Scully greeted Mulder as he was twelve minutes before time for her small dinner party.

"Is that any way to greet your guest, hostess?" Mulder chuckled. "Especially a guest who has brought you flowers."

"Mulder", she said in awe as she saw the beautiful bouquet he had picked out. "You shouldn't have."

"Ah, well. I walked past a graveyard earlier and thought; 'Why not?'"

"I'm sure you did", she said honestly but her eyes said otherwise.

"So how was your day, Scully?" Mulder asked as he watched her cook.

"Uneventful really", she smiled at him. "My mother called though. She and dad will be joining us for dinner."

"Your mom and dad are coming?" Mulder asked standing up straight.

"Yes", Scully chuckled. "Is that not okay?"

"Yeah, sure, of course it is. I just wish you would have told me Scully. I would have… dressed nicer", Mulder said nervously.

Scully gave him a quick once over taking in his casual attire that consisted of jeans and a blue t-shirt. It wasn't that different from the jeans and white v-neck sweater Scully was wearing herself.

"What you're wearing is fine", Scully shrugged. "My parents aren't especially formal, Mulder."

"I'm all nervous now, Scully", Mulder sighed. "What if they don't like me?"

"Mulder", she chuckled. "Why wouldn't they like you? You're a great guy. And they're gonna see how much you mean to Aidan."

Mulder nodded but he didn't seem convinced.

"Come here, Mulder", Scully told him as she stepped away from the stove.

He willingly walked into her arms and held her body close to his.

"What are you really nervous about, Mulder?" she whispered into his shoulder.

"If… if your parents don't like me… will you still feel the same way about me?" he whispered into her hair.

"Mulder, nothing could make me think less of you. Not even my parents."

"Good", he sighed relieved. "You mean a lot to me, Scully… you and Aidan."

"I know, Mulder", she said pulling back slightly to look him in the eyes. "I…"

That was all she got to say before a knock on the door interrupted her. As she went to let her parents in Mulder tugged his t-shirt down his pants. Even though Scully's words had soothed him he was still slightly nervous. He heard Aidan run from his room to the hallway to greet his grandparents. Within a few moments they were heading towards the kitchen, and as they got nearer Mulder's heart beat faster.

"Mulder!" Aidan exclaimed happily and ran toward him to jump into his arms.

Mulder caught him and hoisted him on his hip before he took in the sight of Cpt. and Mrs. Scully. They were smiling at Mulder, who was holding their grandson, and looked genuinely happy.

"Mom and dad; this is Fox Mulder", Scully introduced him smiling broadly.

Mulder walked the short distance between them. "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you both from Aidan and Dana of course", he told them shaking their hands with one hand while holding onto Aidan with the other one.

"We've heard a lot about you as well, Fox", Mrs. Scully smiled at him.

"Please, call him Mulder, mom", Scully rolled her eyes but Mrs. Scully didn't seem to take any notice of her comment.

Soon Ellen had joined the party as well and as Aidan and Trent were playing in Aidan's room Mulder was sitting in the living room in Scully's armchair opposite Cpt. Scully, Mrs. Scully and Ellen who were sitting in the couch. They were making polite conversation as Scully was seeing to the food in the kitchen. Mulder felt rather uncomfortable and didn't really join in on any of the conversation. Ellen seemed to have met the Scullys before and as they were talking about Ellen's job Scully finally returned with five glasses of white wine on a tray. As everyone took a glass Scully sat down on the armrest of Mulder's chair. Instinctively Mulder placed his hand on her lower back and smiled up at her. She smiled back and was just about to lean in for one of their chaste kisses when she remembered they weren't alone. Luckily no one seemed to have noticed.

"So, Mulder", Cpt. Scully made Mulder snap out of gazing at Scully. "Dana tells me you're an FBI agent. That you work with unexplained phenomena."

"That's correct, sir", Mulder answered polite. "I work cases where others have given up explaining. Sometimes the local law enforcement and the former agents working the cases just haven't known where to start or how to connect the different pieces of evidence that individually might not mean anything to the investigation in question. But, as it's the situation regarding most of my cases, they simply haven't known in which direction to search for their culprit or how to comprehend the crimes that has been committed."

"So you believe in the paranormal?" Ellen asked clearly surprised.

"When convention and science offer us no answers, might we not finally turn to the fantastic as a plausibility?" Mulder asked smiling.

"How the two of you can stand each other, let alone be friends, is beyond me", Ellen started laughing.

"What?" Mulder and Scully asked in unison, both knitting their eyebrows in confusion.

"You're just very different", Mrs. Scully chuckled as well.

Mulder and Scully just looked at each other and shrugged.

"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing", Scully shrugged.

"Of course not, honey", Mrs. Scully agreed. "I'm just surprised you don't argue all the time."

"We discuss things all the time but we never argue", Mulder said. "Do we?" he asked Scully.

"No, never", she smiled at him.

"Well, that sure is amazing!" Cpt. Scully shook his head. "I know how stubborn Dana can be."

"She sure can", Mulder chuckled, looking teasingly up at Scully.

"Stubborn?" she asked in disbelief. "I'm not stubborn! Why would you agree to that, Mulder?" she asked him, hitting him lightly in the chest.

"You can be stubborn at times, Scully", he said calmly looking her straight in the eyes. "That's part of who you are, that's okay."

"When am I stubborn?" she demanded to know.

"How about right now?" Mulder chuckled smirking.

"Shut up, Mulder!" she said rolling her eyes but not quite able to stop smiling as she walked to the kitchen to check on the food.

Keeping the smile on his face and keeping his eyes on Scully as she left the room Mulder was in a dreamy state. The jeans she was wearing were complimenting her butt nicely he couldn't help notice and he bit his bottom lip as he admired it. As she disappeared into the kitchen he sighed audibly and instantly blushed as he became aware of the looks he was getting from the three people on the couch.

"Mulder, come help me!" Scully demanded from the kitchen and he was glad to be given an excuse to leave the tension he had created.

"Can you get the plates and…" Scully began but stopped as she saw Mulder's expression. "Mulder, what's wrong?"

"I just made a fool of myself", he sighed.

"What? How? I just left you", she asked frowning.

"Well, I might have looked slightly hungry towards your rear end", he admitted.

"Mulder", she chuckled. "Why would you do that?"

"You don't wear jeans often, Scully, and I just noticed that they showed it off quite nicely", he was smiling playfully now.

"Are you trying to say you like my butt, Mulder?" she grinned.

"Of course, I like your butt", he said taking a step nearer Scully.

"Just set the table, will you?" she chuckled and turned around to serve the food from the stove.

"Yeah okay", he agreed with another appreciative look downwards.

As he started to set the table in the living room the others arose from the couch and walked towards the dinner table. "Dana will be right out with dinner", he informed them smiling polite. "You should sit down."

They did as he had suggested and Mulder returned to the kitchen to see if there was anything else he might be able to help with. He returned shortly after with five wine glasses and a red wine which according to Cpt. Scully was: "A great le vin rouge". Mulder poured them all some of the wine before telling Aidan and Trent that dinner was ready.

Scully had prepared a delicious roast dinner. As they sat around the round dinner table Mulder had a nice feeling inside of him that he remembered from his childhood. It was the feeling that came from small talk, laughing, eating a nice dinner, and most of all; being with genuinely nice and well meaning people. It was the feeling of being part of a family Mulder realized and as happy as it made him, it saddened him as well as he was once again reminded of Samantha. Mulder knew he shouldn't but he searched for Scully's hand under the table. At first she gave him a sideways questioning look but as soon as she saw the sadness deep within his eyes, a sadness she had already learnt what meant, she linked her fingers through his and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

Mulder felt better instantly as his stomach was filled with butterflies from touching Scully. He soon joined in on the conversation again and despite his accident with his wandering eyes earlier, both Cpt. and Mrs. Scully really seemed to like him. Of course it must have helped that Aidan couldn't stop talking about Mulder and how much fun they always had.

As the dinner table had been cleared and dessert had been enjoyed Ellen announced that she should be going. Trent was trying to convince her through a yawn that he wasn't tired at all but fooled no one. As they had left Scully told Aidan to get ready for bed as well. Mulder had never seen Aidan tired enough to not complain about his bedtime and tonight was no exception. He gave in after a couple of minutes though and as he was dressed for bed he ordered his grandparents to read for him.

Meanwhile Mulder was helping Scully clean up in the kitchen. It went undemanding with the dishwasher and the only thing that needed any real effort were the wine glasses that Scully claimed were too fragile for the dishwasher.

"I noticed you tugged your t-shirt down your jeans", Scully stated as she was finishing cleaning the last wine glass after having been silent for the whole duration of her cleaning and Mulder drying.

"You don't think that looked nicer?" he asked her.

She just shrugged as she dried off her hands with a towel while Mulder took the last wine glass to dry off. "Dirty shirts look awful. If you weren't wearing any shirt at all it would be nice. Everything else falls in between", she smirked leaning against the counter.

"Are you saying you want me to take my shirt off?" he asked her putting down the last glass and stepping into her personal space.

"I'm saying it would be nice if you wanted to", she smiled mischievously. "And that I don't care what you wear or how you wear it, since I'll always be picturing you without anything on anyway."

"I bet I picture you naked more times in a day than you have ever pictured me without a shirt on", he says as they are now as close as possible without being bare. His hands are on her hips and as she wraps her arms around his neck their mouths are almost touching. They can feel each other's breaths on their lips and it's making their heads spin. As they are once again confronted with their own feelings and in doubt about the other's they both know that if they go on with where they are headed their kiss will neither be chaste nor innocent.

As they hear Aidan's bedroom door being closed and footsteps coming towards them they reluctantly break apart. Mulder sighs audibly as he sits down on one of the chairs in the kitchen while Scully puts the now clean wine glasses back in the cupboard above her.

"He's sleeping now", Mrs. Scully announced as she entered the kitchen and sat down next to Mulder. "He never stops talking about you, Fox."

"Really?" Mulder asked slightly disbelieving.

"Really", she confirmed smiling and Mulder smiled proudly in return.

"You want a cup of tea?" Scully asked her guests as she brought the water to boil.

"That sounds lovely, dear", Mrs. Scully answered while Cpt. Scully nodded in appreciation as well.

"I think I'll head off", Mulder announced and got up from the chair.

"Are you sure you don't want a cup of tea or coffee before you go?" Scully asked slightly disappointed.

"No thanks, Scully. But thanks for a great dinner today. I've had fun", he smiled at her before turning to Mrs. Scully. "And it was nice meeting you, Mrs. Scully", he told her shaking her hand gently.

"Nice meeting you too, Fox."

"And nice meeting you, Cpt. Scully", he told Scully's father and shook his hand firmly.

"It was my pleasure", he said with a firm shake himself. "You're a good man, Mulder."

"Thank you", Mulder nodded and felt truly worthy of his words.

"I'll walk you out", Scully said and followed Mulder to the door.

"I'm sorry for not staying longer, Scully", he told her taking her hand in his. "But it's been hard for me tonight. Not being able to touch you like I use to."

"I know", she smiled. "I'm not sure my parents would understand the meaning of our touches and kisses."

"I'm glad they like me though", he smiled broadly. "Goodnight, Scully."

"Night, Mulder", she said before his lips descended on hers and only stayed there for the shortest time.

"Mulder is really nice", her father said honestly as they were sitting in the living room enjoying their tea.

"He's a great guy", Scully agreed.

"And he's nothing more than Aidan's friend?" her mother inquired knowingly.

"No… Well, he's my friend as well", Scully admitted, not knowing why she was blushing.

"He's quite good looking", she said in a nonchalant tone as if she had just made a comment about the weather.

"Mom!" Scully said shocked, feeling her cheeks burn.

"Maggie, what are you getting at?" her husband asked her rather stunned as well.

"Just that… Dana and Fox seem very close."

"We're only friends, mom!" Scully said defensively.

"You've never had a male friend before, Dana. You always said that guys grossed you out when they didn't have a girlfriend around to keep them civil", she stated.

"I know", Scully sighed. "Mulder is not like most guys though. He's special, mom."

"I noticed", her mother smiled assuring at her. "And I'm glad you've found such a great guy for Aidan to be around."

"Me too, mom", Scully grinned. "Mulder has been a Godsend, really. I can't even remember laughing with another adult before he came into our lives, or when Aidan ever felt like he could depend on someone outside the family. He has brought so much joy into our lives and he does it without expecting anything in return. He might be my best friend and I have only known him for nearly three weeks. And even if I don't know that much about him, I know that he would never intentionally let Aidan or me down. Next to you, dad; he's the best man I've ever known."


	4. Halloween

**Alright, so really Skinner wasn't Mulder's supervisor at this time in the show but I don't feel like I know Blevins well enough to be writing lines for him and I don't really want to try and characterize the guy. **

**I have learned from earlier incidents that it takes too long for me to do so and I would rather just carry on with the story. **

**I feel like I know Skinner better and I can therefore better be imagining how he might articulate himself. **

**I hope you don't mind too much and I hope you enjoy reading! :-)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4 – Halloween<p>

_J. Edgar Hoover Building_

_October 26'th 1992, 10.13 am_

Mulder was studying an article that had been shoved under the door to his basement office when he met that Monday morning as the phone rang.

"Mulder", he answered characteristically.

"Agent Mulder, this is Assistant Director Skinner", he informed him in his monotone voice.

"Good morning, sir. I'm not late for a meeting am I?" Mulder didn't remember having any engagements this morning but that was the only reason Skinner ever called him directly.

"Don't worry, Agent Mulder, you're not in any trouble. For once", Mulder smiled at his words but Skinner's voice remained calm and strict. "I just wanted to remind you about the annual Halloween party the bureau is having this Saturday. I know you never attend these things but there's been a mix-up with the invitations and since half the agents hadn't received one I have to call all the agents I supervise to make sure they know about the event."

"Oh, well thank you, sir", Mulder said thinking for a few seconds. "If I were to go could I bring someone?"

"Yes", Skinner answered after a little pause, probably to get over the shock that Mulder might attend a social event. "The invitation is plus one."

"What time is the party, sir?" Mulder asked looking for some paper in the mess that was his desk.

"It… it starts at 7", he let him know.

"Thank you, sir", Mulder said polite as he scribbled it down and hung the post it note on the side of his computer screen.

As he had hung up he went back to the article he had been reading. It was about a young boy whose mother claimed he could communicate with the dead. Apparently one of these ghosts had tried to kill the boy but of course no one believed the mother. Social workers were trying to remove the child from her custody as they thought she was the one harming the kid.

XxXxX

_Carter Children's Medical Practice _

_October 26'th 1992, 12.39 pm_

Scully had just finished up with her last patient before lunch as there was a knock on the door to her office.

"Come in", she yelled out, expecting it to be one of the three other doctors who worked at the small practice along with her, and she continued writing the data of her last patient into her computer as someone entered her office.

"Hi, Scully", a familiar voice whispered right into her ear, startling her as she felt his hot breath on her neck.

"Jesus, Mulder!" she jumped in her chair, causing him to chuckle.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him turning around in the chair to face him.

"Do you have any patients this afternoon, Dr. Scully?"

"Of course I have patients, Mulder", she sighed. "What do you want?"

"I want you to examine someone for me. A 12-year-old boy. Someone tried to strangle him", Mulder informed her.

"Is this one of your cases, Mulder?" she was intrigued now.

"Yes it is, Scully. I'm not sure it's an x-file yet. I need your help to find out. So what time can I tell his mother to bring him over?" he assumed she would do it.

"Mulder, I'm not sure what you want from me here. I don't even know what the case is about. Why don't you bring him to a hospital to get him examined, why does it have to be me?"

"Because I can trust you, Scully", he said seriously. "And I'll tell you all about the case as soon as you have examined Henry."

"Okay", she finally agreed. "Tell his mother to bring him over here at 4. But this isn't the kind of patients I usually tend to, Mulder."

"I know, Scully. Thank you", he smiled.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm happy to help you out. Have I ever told you I once considered joining the FBI myself?" she asked him with a smile on her face.

"No", he grinned sitting down in the patient's chair. "Are you serious?"

"Very", she nodded. "They tried to recruit me out of medical school. I wanted to do it. I just didn't think it would be a particular wise decision since I had Aidan. As interesting as it would have been it would have been very selfish. So I decided to become a pediatrician instead. That way I figured I could save some money if Aidan should ever become ill."

"That was a very unselfish decision, Scully", Mulder was once again struck with how loving a mother she was.

"I chose to have Aidan. I knew that would lead to making some different choices for myself but I never regretted anything because I know Aidan is worth it."

"Just imagine if we had been partners, Scully. We would have been unstoppable!"

"We would have driven each other crazy, Mulder", Scully grinned.

"That too", Mulder agreed. "So… are you ready for lunch?"

"Sure", Scully said checking her watch and shutting her computer down.

As Scully was locking her office door behind her Mulder went to turn the car on.

"Dr. Scully!" the receptionist called her over before she could leave for the parking lot.

"Darlene", Scully said. "I was just going for lunch. Is there a problem?"

"No, no, Dr. Scully, no problem. I was just wondering who that man was in your office", Darlene was practically drooling as she mentioned Mulder.

"He's a friend of mine", Scully said sternly.

"Do you know if he's seeing anyone?" Darlene was really getting on Scully's nerves now.

"No, Darlene. I don't know", she lied and went out the door before Darlene could ask her any more questions.

XxXxX

_Carter Children's Medical Practice_

_October 26'th 1992, 4.55 pm_

"A ghost?" Scully's voice was raised. "You think a ghost did this, Mulder?"

"I certainly don't think it was the mother, Scully. Do you think she seems capable of hurting her son?"

"No", Scully agreed to that. "But a ghost? Wouldn't it make more sense to check if someone could have broken into the house that night before assuming ghosts?"

"All the windows were closed and the doors locked. No one entered the house that night", Mulder let her know.

"Maybe someone was already there then. Someone could have sneaked in during the day and hidden somewhere in the house. That's certainly more plausible than a ghost, Mulder!"

"I don't think it's a ghost, Scully", Mulder clarified.

"But you just said…"

"I said Henry's mother thinks it's a ghost", he cut her off.

"So what do you think, Mulder?" Scully was confused now. "I thought you believe in ghosts as well."

"I do, I just don't think that's the case here, Scully. Ghosts can cause mental terror, sure, but never physical. Ghosts haunt a specific place but Henry's mother has told me about incidents at his school as well as the attack at home."

"So if you don't think it's a ghost, what do you think, Mulder? Do you have any suspects? Is there someone who might want to hurt Henry?"

"Well, Henry is what you might call a 'difficult child'. He's a bully. But the only ones who might want to hurt him are 12-year-olds."

"The marks on his neck are consistent with a grown man's hand", Scully contemplated. "You think maybe one of the kids Henry bullied has a very protective parent?"

"You could say that", Mulder kept on being mysterious.

"Alright, Mulder. We're closing now and I have to get home to Aidan. Do you wanna tell me what you think or do you wanna keep me guessing?" Scully asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's a boy in Henry's class; Benjamin Aldrin. Recently Benjamin's father committed suicide as he learned he was dying of cancer. Henry has been pretty tough on Benjamin and told him that his father killed himself because Benjamin was such a disappointment. Aldrin was a professional basketball player but Benjamin has never been particular good at sports and I guess he has always felt bad about that. My guess is that Aldrin might still be protecting Benjamin, as he did when he took his own life because he didn't want his son to see him go through hell."

"So you _do_ think it's a ghost?" Scully said, rising her eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"No", Mulder grinned. "A poltergeist, Scully. They're two different kinds of energies, you know?"

"Alright, Mulder", she rolled her eyes. "Now I really need to get home!"

"Of course", he smiled. "Thank you for your help today, Scully."

"Please", she laughed as they walked out of her office. "How did I help you at all? You had already made up your mind before I even did the examination."

"I didn't have evidence that Henry's mother couldn't have inflicted the marks on his neck", he said as she locked the door. "But you said it was clearly a man's hand."

"Yes, the hand was too big to be that of a woman", Scully confirmed.

"Now Henry won't be taken away from his mother thanks to you", he told her as they walked out of building.

"Well, I must say it was fun playing detective for a day. You know, going over the crime and suspects with you", she admitted.

"Yeah, it was fun having someone to discuss it with. I really do think we would have been great partners, Scully. It's like you make me see everything clearer."

"Well, you make me feel like I'm seeing everything through a fog!" she stated but regretted it as soon as she saw his face fell in disappointment. "I do think we would have been a great team anyway, Mulder. We wouldn't agree on much but we certainly would have all perspectives of the crime covered."

Mulder's face instantly lit up again and they walked in a comfortable silence towards their cars.

"Actually there's something I wanna talk to you about, Scully", he suddenly remembered. "Do you think I could come by later maybe?"

"If you don't have any plans you can come by for dinner right now. I'll just need to stop by a grocery store on the way home."

"Sure, if it's not too much trouble", he nodded.

"You're never trouble, Mulder", she smiled at him and pushed him playfully in the chest.

"Good", he said with a goofy smile on his face.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_October 26'th 1992, 6.30 pm_

"Dinner is ready!" Scully yelled from the kitchen.

Soon Mulder and Aidan appeared from his room where they had been while Scully was cooking. They sat down at the table as Scully brought the food over. Tonight they were having chicken and rice and as always it was delicious.

"What were you doing in your room, Aidan?" Scully asked nicely as they were eating.

"Mulder was showing me how to get girls to notice you", Aidan grinned.

"He was?" Scully laughed.

"Yup", Aidan said taking another mouthful of rice.

"What were you telling him, Mulder?"

"Just to hold the door, be nice, compliment her clothing, overall how to be a gentleman."

"Why? Do you like someone, Aidan? A girl from school?"

"No…" Aidan said defensively but his cheeks were glowing red. "Maybe."

"That's really sweet, Aidan", Scully smiled at him.

Aidan just looked down to his plate and kept on eating. The rest of the dinner went by in silence but Mulder and Scully shared a few smiles on Aidan's behalf.

As Aidan was playing in his room and Mulder and Scully had cleared the table and were sitting in the couch in the living room, Scully remembered that Mulder had wanted to talk about something.

"So, what do you wanna talk about, Mulder?" she smiled at him.

"Oh yeah!" he remembered, turning against her in the couch. "Well… what are you doing for Halloween?"

"Ellen and I are taking Trent and Aidan trick-or-treating. Why?"

"Oh…" Mulder tried to hide his disappointment. "It's just… there's this party… the bureau throws a Halloween Party every year… but it's fine, I never go anyway."

It took Scully a few seconds to get what he was saying. "Oh, you wanted to ask me to the party?"

"Yeah", Mulder shrugged. "I thought it would be fun."

"I'll go with you, Mulder", she said, making him look up from his lap.

"Really? I mean, what about trick-or-treating?"

"Ellen can take the kids alone, it's no problem. I would like to go with you, Mulder."

"That's… that makes me very happy, Scully", he said and brought her into a hug. "Thank you."

"It's alright, Mulder", she chuckled against his shoulder. "I'm looking forward to it. And it should be fun to meet all of your FBI buddies."

Mulder had to laugh at that statement making Scully pull out of the hug.

"I don't have many friends, Scully. My office is in the basement. They call me _Spooky_ Mulder."

"They do?" she sounded shocked.

"Yeah", he shrugged. "What I do isn't exactly mainstream FBI business."

"But you're a brilliant agent, Mulder", Scully stated.

"I… I guess", he said. "It's alright, Scully. I don't care what people say about me."

"But I do, Mulder!" she told him. "Now I'm definitely going to that party with you, and if anyone speaks one bad word about you they're gonna get their ass kicked."

Mulder had to laugh at that but he was strangely touched by it at the same time. "How are you gonna kick an FBI agent's ass, Scully? What are you? 5 feet tall?"

"5'3" actually", she corrected him. "And what does that have to do with anything? I bet I could kick your ass if I wanted to."

"Oh, I bet you could", he said leaning in on her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him playfully, hands on his chest.

"I'm about to kiss you", he stated.

Their lips were only an inch apart. But just as they were about to close the distance between them Aidan came running into the room. They pulled apart instantly.

"What do I do when I've got her to notice me?" Aidan asked Mulder.

The little guy was standing right in front of them while they were still seated close to each other on the couch.

"If you think she likes you, you make a move on her", Mulder told him.

"Like what?" Aidan asked cocking his head and knitting his eyebrows in confusion.

"Just some little gesture that tells her that you like her as well."

Aidan thought about that for a few seconds, shifting his weight from his right foot to the left and back again, before sighing deeply. "Show me", he ordered Mulder.

"Oh", Mulder gave Scully a sideways glance before initiating his move. "Well if you sit next to her like this", he pointed between the small space between him and Scully. "You can pretend to yawn", Mulder pulled his hand up in front of his mouth as if he was yawning and then stretched it so he had his arm around Scully. "And then do this."

Aidan was grinning now. Apparently he thought Mulder's move was pretty awesome.

"And when she looks up at you", Scully looked up at Mulder as he said this. "You give her your best and most charming smile. Like this", he said and looked down at Scully with his best smile.

"And then I kiss her?" Aidan asked, eyes wide.

"No", Mulder chuckled, pulling Aidan onto his lap and tickling him. "You're too young for that, little guy."

"Stop", Aidan chuckled as he tried to escape Mulder's tickling.

As Mulder finally stopped and Aidan was sitting in his lap, he turned his eyes to his mother.

"Am I really too young to be kissing girls?" he asked Scully.

"Yes", she smiled at him, running her hand though his messy red hair. "Way too young."

"When am I old enough then?" he wanted to know.

"When you can drive a car", Scully answered him smiling.

Aidan's eyes widened at her response which made both Mulder and Scully chuckle.

They kept sitting like this, with Aidan on Mulder's lap and Scully right next to them, for a while as they talked and laughed together. Before long Aidan had fallen asleep though.

"I'm gonna carry him to bed", Mulder said, but just kept sitting with Aidan in his arms, looking into his peaceful little face.

"I can't believe he's already interested in girls", Scully said in a low voice, so she wouldn't wake her sleeping child.

"He's growing up fast, huh?" Mulder contemplated.

"Yeah", Scully sighed. "I'll go find him a pajama", she said after a moment's peace.

Mulder nodded and took this as his cue to carry Aidan to his room. As he gently placed the sleeping boy on the bed, Scully removed his clothes and got him into his pajama. They both kissed his forehead before leaving him to sleep.

"He's an angel", Mulder stated as they were standing outside Aidan's room.

"He is", Scully agreed.

They went to the kitchen and had a cup of coffee before it was time for Mulder to drive home.

"I'll see you Saturday", Mulder said standing in the door on his way out. "I'll pick you up at 6.30, okay?"

"Sure", she smiled.

"Oh, and see you Wednesday for lunch at Hugo's?" he added.

"Of course", she looked him deep into his eyes.

He knew what this glance from Scully meant so he bent down to give her a chaste kiss on the mouth. It lasted only about 5 seconds but his heart was beating like he had just run a marathon. He grinned down at her and she smiled her wonderful little smile back at him.

"Bye, Mulder", she chuckled, reminding him that he was on his way out.

"Good-bye", he sighed and squeezed her hand before finally leaving.

XxXxX

_J. Edgar Hoover Building_

_October 31'st 1992, 7.15 pm_

Finding the perfect Halloween costumes had been hard to say the least. They had had many ideas; Han Solo and Princess Leia, Bonnie and Clyde, Danny and Sandy from Grease, Mulder had even suggested Adam and Eve, that was shot down rather quickly though. The hard thing had been to find something they agreed upon. Scully didn't wanna go as Princess Leia, Mulder didn't wanna do the whole Grease thing, and even though they were both fond of the Bonnie and Clyde idea they decided against it – it was an FBI event, and Scully didn't wanna be giving any wrong signals. In the end they had agreed upon Superman and Wonder Woman. As much as Mulder didn't wanna wear tights and Scully didn't want to show too much skin, Mulder wanted Scully to show skin and Scully wanted to see Mulder in tights. Of course they didn't share this with each other; they just said that they were both pleased with the costumes.

Mulder and Scully had just arrived at the party and there were already many people there. They moved to the bar to get something to drink. Scully couldn't stop touching his biceps. They were so evident in his costume and he didn't seem to mind. Mulder had an equally hard time keeping his arm from around her waist. She was so sexy and he didn't want anyone else to make a move on her. He wanted people to think she was with him. Which she was.

"Mulder", Skinner's voice interrupted them from looking at each other as they were standing by the wall.

"Sir", Mulder greeted him, and tried not to laugh as Skinner was dressed as Count Dracula. "Great costume. Very scary."

"Thanks", he coughed, giving them the expression he hadn't picked it out himself. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh", Mulder looked down at Scully. "This is Dr. Dana Scully. She's a pediatrician", he told Skinner but his eyes were on Scully the whole time. "And this is my boss; Assistant Director Walter Skinner."

"Nice to meet you", Scully smiled and offered Skinner her hand to shake.

"It certainly is, Dr. Scully", Skinner agreed. "I'm afraid Mulder hasn't mentioned you but then again, he never mentions anything that goes on in his life outside the office."

"Not to be rude, sir, but neither do you", Mulder pointed out.

"Touché", Skinner chuckled. "So how long have you been seeing each other?"

"Oh, we're not together", Scully blushed.

"We're just friends", Mulder tried to clarify.

Skinner looked at them for a few seconds with his eyebrows raised. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah", Mulder chuckled. "We're pretty sure."

"If you say so", Skinner still didn't seem convinced. "So how do you know each other?"

"Mulder's my son's Big Brother", Scully told him.

"Oh that's right", Skinner nodded. "I remember you signed up to be a Big Brother a couple of months ago. So you're a mom?"

"She's an amazing mom", Mulder corrected Skinner, smiling down at Scully.

"Thank you", Scully smiled back at Mulder and for a moment they were lost in each other's eyes.

"You wanna dance?" Mulder asked her, not breaking eye contact once.

"Yes", she answered him.

"Oh, will you excuse us, sir?" Mulder remembered they were talking to Skinner.

Skinner just nodded smiling and watched as the young not-couple walked to the dance floor.

They danced to 'Friday I'm In Love' by The Cure and laughed as it was obvious it had been a few years since either of them had been on a dance floor. Now 'Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg' by TLC was playing.

"So your boss seems nice", Scully said between her dance moves.

"Sure", Mulder agreed. "Usually he's a bit stricter though."

"Of course he is, he's your boss", Scully chuckled.

"Touché", Mulder grinned with her, imitating what Skinner had said earlier.

"_If I need it in the morning or the middle of the night – I ain't too proud to beg_", Scully sang along, surprising Mulder.

"_If the lovin' is strong then he got it goin' on and – I ain't too proud to beg_", she sang before realizing Mulder was chuckling. "Shut up, Mulder", she told him, pushing him lightly in the chest. "Don't you ever listen to the radio?"

"Apparently not as much as you", he grinned and made a dance move that was supposed to be sexy but probably was everything but.

Soon the up-beat song ended and 'Hello' by Lionel Ritchie started playing. A slow song.

"What do you say?" Mulder smiled nervously.

Scully answered by smiling and putting her arms around his neck. Sighing relieved he put his own arms around her and they started moving to the beautiful song.

They were both aware of the fact that Mulder's hands were dangerously low on her back and that her breasts were pressed against his muscular chest. His mouth was nearly touching her forehead due to the fact that she was wearing heels. He knew he shouldn't have but he couldn't stop himself from kissing her forehead tenderly. Maybe it was the music, maybe it was the few drinks he had already had, or maybe Scully was simply irresistible. All he knew was that he couldn't not kiss her. His lips demanded to taste her sweet skin.

"Sorry", he mumbled as she looked questioning up at him.

"It's alright, Mulder", she smiled an assuring smile to let him know it was okay.

It was difficult dancing to this song with each other since it pretty much hit home. They were basically blushing throughout the whole song. When the song had finished they went to the bar once again for another drink. Mulder noticed Scully's cheeks were already flustered from the alcohol and he was glad he had thought ahead and gotten a cab from Scully's apartment.

"Are there any more of your colleagues you want me to meet?" Scully asked him sweetly.

Looking around the room and not really seeing anybody he knew he simply shrugged his shoulder. "If I think of someone, I'll let you know", he promised.

"That guy seems to know you", Scully said and pointed at a blond haired man, about Mulder's height but not quite as fit, dressed as a football player, that kept looking in their direction.

"That's Tom Colton, he's a jerk", Mulder explained.

"Why?" Scully demanded to know.

"He asked me for help on a case once. They were at a stand-still and he saw the case as a chance for him to climb the ladder of success. He didn't like what I had to say and tried to exclude me from the investigation."

"I bet you solved the case and made him look stupid", Scully smiled at him.

"I solved the case, yes. But I doubt I made anyone but myself look stupid", he sighed. "Saying that the culprit is a liver eating mutant rarely leads to applause from your colleagues."

"Oh", Scully chuckled nervously, feeling bad for Mulder and how he was treated at work. "Are you sure he doesn't like you?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure", Mulder grinned. "Why?"

"He's coming over", Scully said and nodded in the direction of Colton, who was indeed moving towards them.

"Agent Mulder", he greeted Mulder but with clear disgust in his voice.

"Colton", Mulder acknowledged his presence but his disgust as well.

"Tom Colton", he smiled at Scully and extended his hand to her.

"Ehm… Dana Scully", she let him know and shook his hand quickly, not quite feeling safe in this situation.

The moment she let go of Colton's hand Mulder snatched it into his.

"What do you want, Colton?" Mulder didn't bother to be polite.

"Actually, I was gonna ask your girlfriend to dance", he tried to smile charmingly at Scully, but he didn't hold a candle to Mulder.

"I'm sorry but I promised Mulder this dance", Scully lied, making Mulder smile in triumph.

"Oh. That's too bad", he said clearly disappointed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Okay", Scully agreed reluctant.

"What do you see in him? Do you know that he believes in little green, I mean grey, I mean… aliens? He's a crackpot!"

Scully couldn't believe this. Mulder was standing right next to her, he didn't seem as offended as she was though.

"Do you really wanna know?" Scully asked teasingly. Colton nodded. "He's amazing in bed", she winked at Colton, leaving him standing there with his mouth wide open as she dragged Mulder to the dance floor.

"Scully, you just keep on surprising me", Mulder couldn't stop laughing.

"I kinda surprised myself", she laughed with him as they began dancing.

"Thank you", he told her sincerely.

She just smiled at him, saying everything that needed to be said with her eyes.

When they were back at Scully's apartment, many hours and many drinks later, Scully had convinced Mulder to come in for a cup of coffee before taking a cab home to his own apartment. Aidan was sleeping at Trent's so they didn't need to worry about waking him. Mulder wanted to dance a last dance so Scully put on some music. They laughed harder than ever before as they danced wildly around the living room. As Mulder collapsed in the couch Scully turned the music off again and went to get them the cups of coffee they had stayed up for. When she returned Mulder had fallen asleep though. He looked so peaceful. It was quite the funny scene too though; Mulder asleep in his Superman costume. Scully couldn't resist sneaking into her bedroom to get her Polaroid camera and snatching a few photos of Mulder. Chuckling to herself she laid the photos on the coffee table to develop. She took a pillow from one of the armchairs and placed it on the couch. Then she gently made Mulder lay down on it with his head and brought his legs up on the couch as well. As she caressed his cheek, he made a content sigh and breathed out; "Scully." It made her heart flutter. She bent down to kiss his cheek but got surprised as he pulled her down to lay on top of him.

"Mulder!" she gasped in shock.

"Stay, please!" he begged her sweetly.

She couldn't say no to him. Besides she was very tired and felt rather comfortable where she was.

"Stay?" he asked her, slowly drifting back to sleep.

"I'll stay with you, Mulder", she told him, and before long they were both sleeping sound in each other's arms.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_November 1'st 1992, 8.08 am_

"Oh God, Mulder! What is that?" Scully asked surprised.

They had just awoken and Mulder was spooning up to Scully on the small couch. He could feel the sweat dripping down his back from having it against the warm couch back all night wearing his tight Superman costume.

"It's what you do to me, Scully", he whispered into her ear.

"Well, as much as I would like to take care of you", Mulder had to gulp at her words. She wanted to take care of his boner? "Aidan will be home in 20 minutes and I wanna make him a healthy breakfast."

"A healthy breakfast?"

"He'll probably need the strength of a healthy meal once he gets off his sugar high."

"That'll be another couple of weeks, Scully", Mulder chuckled.

"As nice as this is", she sighed at the feel of being surrounded by Mulder. "I should get up, Mulder."

"What's holding you back?"

"Your arms", she giggled.

"Oh", he released his tight grip on her. "Is it alright if I just lie here for a few minutes?"

"Of course, Mulder", she smiled down at him before walking to the kitchen to make a 'healthy breakfast'.

Mulder's head was aware of the fact that he had had a couple of drinks the night before and it was pounding slightly. He didn't feel like he was gonna die, just a bit uneasy. As far as hangovers go, he considered himself rather lucky this morning. His eyes caught sight of the camera on the coffee table. Sitting up slowly on the couch he saw two photographs next to it. He chuckled as he saw himself lying on Scully's couch sleeping dressed as Superman. Snatching the Polaroid camera he sneaked into the kitchen. Scully was standing by the counter cutting something. At the sound of the camera she turned around immediately.

"What are you doing, Mulder?"

"What did you do last night as I was innocently sleeping?" he smirked.

"Oh", she giggled. "You found the pictures? Did they turn out alright?"

"Sure, they're alright. Why did you take them?"

"You looked so sweet asleep in your little Superman costume", she winked at him.

Before he could answer her there was a knock on the door. Walking to the door, Scully gave Mulder a few orders; "Could you cut the rest of the fruit and put it into the blender with the rest of the pancake batter? Thanks, Mulder."

He sliced the apples, bananas, and peaches and put them into the bowl with the berries before emptying the bowl of fruit into the blender with the pancake batter. He didn't know if he should turn it on so he didn't. He heard Scully invite Ellen and Trent to stay for breakfast, and figured that was why she had made so much.

"Hey, Aidan", Mulder said as he entered the kitchen.

It took Aidan a second to recognize Mulder in his costume, but when he did he ran to give him a hug.

"You're costume is so awesome!" he said, as he was resting on Mulder's hip.

"Thanks, buddy", he smiled. "Did you have a costume on yesterday as well?"

"Yeah", he nodded energetic. "Mom, can I put it on to show Mulder?"

"Sure", Scully smiled at him as she started the blender.

As Aidan ran to his room, Trent ran with him.

Ellen sat down by the island in the kitchen and asked how their night had been.

"It was fun", Scully told her, as she started making the pancakes by the stove.

"What's this?" Ellen started laughing as she picked up the pictures of Mulder sleeping on the table.

"I fell asleep on the couch and Scully took advantage of me", Mulder said, smirking at Scully.

"You poor thing", Scully giggled rolling her eyes at him.

Mulder sat down next to Ellen and talked to her before Aidan returned from his room fully dressed in black.

"Wow", Mulder said. "You look so scary, Aidan!"

"You think so?" he asked though the mask.

"Yeah, that's the best Darth Vader costume I've ever seen!" Mulder didn't mention that it was the only one as well.

"I made the light saber myself!" Aidan announced proud.

His light saber was basically just a long stick which had been painted red.

"Nice job, Aidan", Mulder exclaimed.

Aidan took the mask off to reveal his great smile.

"Do you wanna play Star Wars with me and Trent?" he asked Mulder.

"I'm afraid not, little guy", Mulder hated to see the sad look on Aidan's face. "I have a slight headache."

"Why?" Aidan demanded to know.

"There was…" free bar? "… very loud music at the Halloween party."

"Oh okay", Aidan seemed to accept that answer, before running to his room again with Trent.

"Loud music, huh?" Ellen chuckled.

"Free bar's more like it", Scully had read his mind.

"Oh, so you're not feeling the slightest uneasiness?" Mulder asked Scully.

"Nope", she grinned. "But I didn't drink as much as you, Mulder."

"What can I say? I have a soft spot for free bars."

They all laughed and Ellen told them how last night had gone with the boys. Of course, she hadn't been able to get them to go to sleep once they had ate like 15 pounds of sugar.

Soon Scully's healthy fruit pancakes were ready to be eaten and they all ate in comfortable silence.

A few times Mulder and Scully would send a little wink or smile in the other's direction. The words of that Lionel Ritchie song haunting both of them.

_You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide__,_

_'Cause you know just what to say__,_

_And you know just what to do,_

_And I want to tell you so much, I love you._

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed this very long chapter – please leave a review! <strong>

**Yeah, I couldn't quite resist the idea of Mulder dressed as Superman. I hope y'all enjoyed imagining that as much as I did. **

**Now you might think; 'What kind of kid dresses up as Darth Vader for Halloween? – the dude's evil!' The answer would be me. I think I was 8 years old at the time. People thought I was a boy, which I didn't mind too much – tomboy!**

**I'm aware of the fact that the events of 'Squeeze' shouldn't have occured yet, but since this is an alternative universe story, I think we'll all survive. **


	5. Thanksgiving

Chapter 5 – Thanksgiving

_The Scullys' Residence _

_November 26'th 1992, 10.44 am_

"It's so good to see you again, Fox", Mrs. Scully smiled a welcoming smile at Mulder as they entered the kitchen, where she was busy.

"Thanks", Mulder said feeling awkward. "It was nice of you and Mr. Scully to invite me."

"Well, I never could say no to a begging Dana", she chuckled lightly continuing her work in the kitchen.

"Mom!" Scully blushed. "I wasn't _begging_."

"Whatever you say, dear."

Mulder had been under the impression that it was Scully's mother who had suggested inviting him over for Thanksgiving. The fact that it may have been Scully's own idea, made his stomach fill with butterflies and a smile play at his lips.

"Can I help you with anything, mom?" Scully asked sweetly.

"Oh no, dear, that won't be necessary! I have everything under control. You just go show Fox around the house, okay?"

"Okay", she agreed. "But say if you need some help, mom. You don't have to do everything yourself, you know?"

"I'm fine, Dana", she chuckled. "Get out of here!"

"Alright", Scully rolled her eyes at her mother's stubbornness.

Mulder followed Scully out of the kitchen and let her show him the whole house. They passed the garden where Mr. Scully was teaching Aidan how to throw a football. Finally they ended up in the guestroom where Scully usually slept.

"Do you all have a room in your parents' house?" Mulder asked surprised. His parents certainly didn't have a room dedicated to him at their new places.

"Yes, it's a five bedroom house, so it's no problem really. And there's a living room in the basement as well where the kids usually sleep if we all stay overnight. It comes in handy for Christmas when we're all gathered."

"That's nice. So your brothers have children as well?" he remembered they were married, and that her sister was 'the flaky one', so he figured she hadn't settled down.

"Only my younger brother; Charlie", Scully smiled. "He got his high school girlfriend pregnant when he was 17."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, really. She was 18. They married a couple of weeks before she gave birth to their first son; Christopher. A couple of years later they had Thomas. I'm kinda glad he was a young dad, that way my parents had already been through it once, well twice, when I told them about Aidan."

"So they didn't mind?"

"Mind my pregnancy? No, not really. I told them I had been careful but that I wanted to keep the baby and they understood perfectly. They always thought I should have given James a second chance though", she looked down to her hands as she said this.

"You didn't tell them that he cheated on you?" Mulder asked her.

"No. I didn't want them to resent him. He was Aidan's father and I didn't want any bad blood between him and my parents."

"You never think of your own needs first, do you?" he asked taking her hands in his.

"I'm a mother. It comes with the job", she smiled at him.

"You're so amazing, Scully. You never cease to amaze me", he smiled back down at her. "So… you begged your mother to let me come?"

"No…" she blushed again. "I just… I didn't want you to spend the day alone, Mulder."

"Oh", suddenly he stopped smiling and pulled his hands out of hers. "Scully, I don't need you to pity me; I would have found something to do, I…"

"No, Mulder", she stopped him and took his hands again. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that I don't wanna sit around missing you all day and think that you weren't doing anything."

That put the smile back on his face. "I'm very happy about being here, Scully", he clarified. "I would have missed you as well."

He moved his hands to her back as he pulled her into a hug. She put her own arms around his waist and relaxed against his chest. His dark green sweater was scratching her chin.

"Mulder, this sweater sucks!" she chuckled against his chest.

"Why?" he asked her chuckling himself.

"It's scratchy", she complained.

"Well, I hate your sweater as well", he stated and gave her own light yellow sweater a tug.

"My sweater is soft, Mulder. Why would you hate a soft sweater?" she said against his chest, not really caring but enjoying the conversation.

"It keeps me from touching your skin", he said in a low voice, fearing he had taken it too far, as she became really quiet.

After a couple of minutes as she had gotten over the sudden warm sensation at the small of her back where his hands were holding her to him, she spoke softly: "If it annoys you… why don't you take it off?"

Mulder noticed the change in her voice. It had become lower. He felt himself getting hard against her stomach at her words. They were so close, there was no way she wasn't feeling it. Gingerly he lowered his hands and sneaked them up under her sweater. Now he was touching her bare skin and his cock jumped to attention. Oh God, her skin was so soft. Her breath had become heavier just like his. Keeping the one hand on her lower back he tested his luck by running the other hand to her side and teasingly running it from her hip to her ribs just with his fingertips. Her arms tightened around him and she pressed her face deeper into his chest. A low moan escaped her throat as he moved his hand closer to her breast. His face was buried in her hair and he fought to keep on the gentle pace even though every fiber in his body shouted for him to just rip her clothes off and make sweet love to her already. Just as his hand was touching the lacy fabric of her bra a cough made them snap out of their trance.

Mulder instantly snatched his hands off of Scully and took a step back as she fixed her sweater.

"Well, well. What do we have here, Danakins?" a red haired guy was chuckling, leaning casually against the door frame.

"Charlie!" she exclaimed happy and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Happy to see me?" he giggled, giving her a big bear hug.

"Well…" she said stepping back from him, and looking smiling at Mulder over her shoulder. "You could have chosen a better time."

"I saw that", he was now focusing on Mulder. "I'm Charlie, Dana's bright younger brother!" he smiled at him and extended his hand to Mulder.

"Fox Mulder", he introduced himself. "Dana's… good friend."

"I'll say", Charlie chuckled. "Why haven't you told me you were dating this Mulder you haven't been able to shut up about these past months?"

"We're not dating!" Scully rolled her eyes at her brother. "And please don't tell anyone that we are, we're just good friends, really!"

"Whatever you say, big sis", he held his hands up defensively. "Anyway, you should come downstairs. Mom has coffee ready and Jill has something she wants to tell you."

"Sure", Scully agreed. "I'll be down in a minute."

Charlie looked from Scully to Mulder and back to Scully before he got the hint and left them alone again.

"Sorry about that", Scully said stepping back into his embrace.

"No, I'm sorry", Mulder said pulling back slightly to look her in the eyes. "I shouldn't be so… naughty, in your parents' house. I'm sure you didn't want your brother to see you like that."

"It doesn't matter, Mulder. He won't tell anybody. I'm just glad it was Charlie and not Bill who saw us. He would have punched you in the face before you got the chance to get your hands off of me."

"Protective older brother, huh?" he smiled down at her.

"You have no idea", she rolled her eyes to emphasize her words. "We should go get some coffee with the others, Mulder."

"Yeah", he agreed sighing as they pulled apart.

Everyone was sitting in the living room as they came downstairs. Scully's brother Bill and his wife Tara had arrived as well as Charlie and Jill. They sat down and drank a couple of cubs of coffee while Mrs. Scully kept walking back and forth from the living room and the kitchen. Aidan was playing with his cousins outside. Christopher and Thomas were 9 and 7 so the age difference was close to being perfect. Everyone at the table took an interest in Mulder and seemed happy with him. Scully told them about how much Aidan loved him and it made Mulder smile as well as the rest of the family.

Just as Scully had told everyone about how Aidan had wanted Mulder to teach him about girls and they were all done laughing, Charlie and Jill suddenly stood up.

"We have something to tell you all", Charlie said smiling.

"We're…" Jill started but got cut off by a gasping Mrs. Scully.

"Oh my God! You're pregnant!" she stated more than asked and went to hug her daughter-in-law.

"Mom!" Charlie chuckled. "Jill wanted to tell you this time, before you figured it out."

"Oh, I'm so happy", the older woman nearly cried hugging her son as well.

Everyone shouted out their congratulations and Mr. Scully grabbed Charlie's shoulder looking him deep in the eyes while nodding approvingly. This action said more than a thousand words and Charlie's smile widened proudly.

As everyone seemed to have calmed down again, Aidan came and asked if Mulder wanted to play with them outside. Of course, Mulder couldn't say no to Aidan's puppy-dog eyes.

After nearly running around for an hour in the garden with the three young boys playing football, Mulder finally went inside again. They were still having coffee in the living room but Scully was nowhere to be seen. Instead of sitting down, he went to the kitchen, thinking she might be there. It was only Mrs. Scully though, who was busying herself over something on the stove.

"Hey, Mrs. Scully? Do you know where Dana is?" he asked her sweetly.

"She said she was tired so she went for a nap", she smiled at him. "But that's nearly an hour ago, Fox, she's probably awake now, if you need to talk to her."

"Yeah, well I'll go check on her then", he smiled back, but wondered about Scully. She hadn't seemed tired earlier.

Nearly running up the stairs, he gently opened the door to her bedroom. She was lying with her back to him fully clothed on top of the covers. He was just about to leave again when he heard her sniffle.

"Scully?" he said closing the door after him. "Are you okay?" he asked her sitting down next to her with one food still on the floor.

"I'm fine", she said turning her face further away from him. "I'm just tired."

"It's okay, Scully", he calmingly touched her shoulder. "You can tell me if something's wrong. I'm your friend."

"I'm sorry, Mulder", she turned around towards him, letting him see her puffy red eyes. "It's just…" she sighed heavily, not able to say more as a new wave of tears hit her.

"Ssh, Scully", he soothed her, lying down behind her, with one hand holding up his head and the other one taking her hands. "It's alright, I'm here for you."

After a few minutes her crying had subsided again. She took his hand up to her mouth and kissed it gently. "Thank you, Mulder", she nearly whispered.

"You wanna tell me what's wrong, Scully?" he asked her, with a no-pressure tone.

"It's just… it's stupid, really, I mean, I've never cared about it before…"

"What is it, Scully?" he asked her again, scooting closer up to her. Now there was no space between his stomach and her back.

"There's a thing you don't know about me, Mulder. Something nobody knows. It happened when I gave birth to Aidan. I… I can't have another child. Never again."

Mulder was shocked but instantly gathered that Jill's pregnancy had triggered this.

"It's not like it even matters. I have Aidan; he's such a great kid. I don't need another child, I'm lucky to have one that's healthy and well. It's just… I would have liked the option, I guess. I just never really thought about it before seeing that look on Jill and Charlie's faces."

"Of course it matters, Scully", Mulder said kissing her cheek. "And I'm so sorry for you. You deserve to have all the children you want. Or at least the option to have all the kids you want."

"Thank you, Mulder", she sighed, so happy he understood.

They were quiet for a bit.

"Why haven't you told anybody before, Scully?" he wondered.

"I don't know", she shrugged. "On some level I probably thought it would make it real if I talked about it. When I had just had Aidan, I was so happy. I hardly took any notice when the doctor told me about the slim chance of ever getting pregnant again…"

"Slim chance? So you could get pregnant if you were lucky?"

"Very slim chance, Mulder. Even if I find a baby daddy with some top quality sperm there's only about a 2 % chance of conceiving."

"You've already beat the 3 % chance there is with a condom, Scully. You shouldn't give up, if you really want another kid some day."

"I just… I don't wanna put anyone through that, Mulder. Getting someone I love all psyched about a 2 % chance and then when it never happens, having to see that disappointment on his face."

"If they don't wanna be with you just because you can't have their baby, they aren't worthy of you anyway, Scully! I'm sure you can find someone who doesn't care about kids more than they care about being loved by you."

"Mulder, I'm already a mother. If I were to find someone, I'm sure they would be all about the family stuff. Why else would someone date a single mom?"

"I'm just saying. If someone were to really love you. He wouldn't care about anything but you and your health."

"Well, I've given all hope in that department up a long time ago, Mulder", she sighed.

"You never date?" he sounded surprised.

"No. I haven't been with anyone since James. I've been on a couple of dates. But they were either too eager to sleep with me or not talking about anything else than starting a family on their own."

"Never give up on a miracle, Scully", he told her, kissing her cheek tenderly again. "One day the right guy will walk into your life, you'll fall in love with him and he'll feel like the luckiest bastard on planet Earth just because you chose him."

Mulder didn't dare say that he hoped it would be him and Scully couldn't stop thinking that she already knew Mulder was the only one she could ever imagine herself with – she didn't dare hope he felt the same way though. How could he? He would have said something, she was sure of it. He wasn't the type of person to hold back like she was. If he loved someone he would be all over them.

"Thank you, Mulder", she turned around in his arms. "How did I ever become deserving of a friend like you?"

"I'm the lucky one, Scully", he said seriously pulling her closer to him and lying back in the bed.

"Are you kidding, Mulder?" she asked as she was lying with her head on his chest, her leg casually sprawled over one of his. "Aidan and I are so blessed to have you in our lives. You have been our savior."

"No, Scully", he gave her a squeeze. "You have been mine."

Thinking about his words Scully felt sleep overtake her. Apparently the crying had made her tired. Mulder gently pushed the hair out of her face and was content looking down at her angelic face as she slept. Before long he joined her and as his own eyes closed, his dreams got clouded with the peaceful expression on his love's face.

It was finally time to eat! Charlie had been looking forward to this for days. As people got seated he realized his sister was missing. And that Mulder guy too. He remembered Dana had gone for a nap around noon but it was 2 pm now. He instantly went to her bedroom to see if she was still there. He couldn't say he was really surprised when he saw his sister and Mulder asleep together in her bed. Mulder was lying on his back with his arms around her and she was cuddled up to him. Mulder's sweater had nearly been removed. Dana's face was lying on top of his naked chest and her hand was placed low in his stomach right above the button to his jeans. Knocking on the door frame slightly he tried to wake them.

As Scully awoke she felt so much better than she had earlier. Of course, being wrapped up to Mulder helped a lot. Apparently she had moved his scratchy sweater out of her way in her sleep and it wasn't even covering his nipples now. She lazily ran her hand from his stomach to his nipple as she started making small circles around it with her finger.

"Mmh, Scully", he breathed, shifting in his jeans. "You can be such a tease."

"I'm not a tease, Mulder!" she giggled. "You shouldn't be wearing such a lousy sweater if you don't want me to remove it."

"Well, you shouldn't have such a beautiful body, if you don't want me to kiss every inch of it", he said licking his lips at the mere thought.

"Who's stopping you, G-man?" she asked, snaking up his body, towards his lips.

"Dinner's ready!" Charlie cut in, finally finding his voice after the initial shock of his older sister's nipple fingering.

"Jesus, Charlie!" Scully said in shock. "You're definitely not my favorite person today!"

"Sorry", he chuckled, before leaving them alone once again.

Scully gently pressed a kiss to his stomach right over his naval before getting out of the bed. Sighing, Mulder got out as well. Taking her hand, he smiled down at her.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Much", she beamed back at him.

"Good. You know I'm always here for you, Scully", he gave her his word.

"And I'll always be here for you as well, Mulder", she promised, squeezing his hand before letting it go. "Let's get something to eat."

"Let's", he agreed, and followed her back downstairs.

Everything was perfect about the dinner. Both the turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes with gravy, the sweet potatoes, the cranberry sauce, the sweet corn, the vegetables and the pumpkin pie were all perfect and tasted delicious. But also the company and the many laughs shared made the dinner great. Mulder couldn't remember ever feeling like a part of something so great and so pure. He grabbed Scully's hand under the table and gave her a big smile, leaning down to whisper into her ear.

"You make me happy", he said sneaking his arm around her.

She didn't even think about it as she cupped his cheek and gave him a chaste kiss on the mouth.

He smiled down at her before he noticed all conversation had been silenced and all eyes were on them. They were so use to sharing little gestures by this all the time they hadn't even thought twice about doing so.

"Wait a second…" Bill broke the silence. "Is this your boyfriend, Dana? I thought he was Aidan's Big Brother!" he seemed outraged.

"He's not my _boyfriend_, Bill! We're just friends. Good friends", Scully explained blushing.

"That kiss seemed more than plain friendly, Dana!"

"Well, it wasn't!" she told him. "Please leave us alone now! It's none of your business anyway, Bill!"

"None of my…"

"Bill!" Mr. Scully cut him off. "If Dana has something to tell us, I'm sure she will in her own time."

Soon the table returned to their comfortable conversations and soon the incident was forgotten. Well, it wasn't mentioned anymore at least. Scully was just happy Aidan hadn't been there for her little mistake, and that the boys had went down to watch TV in the basement as they had finished dinner a long time before everyone else.

"Mulder!" Aidan yelled from the basement. "MULDER!"

Mulder looked around before getting up and jogging towards the basement. Scully shook her head. He shouldn't be that easy. But what Aidan wanted, Aidan got with Mulder. One time, as Scully had been in the shower, Aidan had called Mulder and asked him if he could come over with some ice cream and not even an hour later, Mulder was standing in her living room with three cups of ice cream from the Gelato shop down the street. When Scully had told him he shouldn't do whatever Aidan asked him for, he had simply shrugged and said; "He said please."

As Mulder had been in the basement for 10 minutes, Scully got a little worried and decided to check up on them. She excused herself from the table, and went down the stairs in the hallway that led to the basement. It wasn't a creepy basement, it pretty much looked like any other room in the house and it was lit with plenty of lamps. There was one big room with a TV, three couches and a few armchairs. And then there was a small room, which Scully's father had made into a bathroom, with a sink and a toilet.

As she came down the stairs she saw Mulder sitting in one of the couches with Aidan sitting in his lap. Christopher and Thomas were sitting in each their own couch as well. The TV was on and they all seemed pretty preoccupied with some football game.

"Hey Scully", Mulder smiled at her as he saw her. "What brings you down to the man cave?"

"The man cave?" she chuckled. "I was just wondering what you were doing down here."

"We're watching the game, Auntie Dana", Thomas told her.

"Yeah, I can see that", she said sitting down next to Thomas and ruffling his hair.

Unlike Aidan her nephews hadn't inherited the characteristic red Scully hair but their mother's black curls instead.

"Why did you call Mulder down here, Aidan?" Scully asked him casually, pretending to watch the game as well.

"I wanted to watch the game with him. He knows a lot about football, mom, did you know that?" Aidan said excited.

"No, I didn't", Scully said smiling at Mulder.

"Well, it's not my favorite sport", Mulder said.

"It's not?" Aidan sounded surprised. "What's your favorite then?"

"Basketball. And baseball", he told Aidan. "But football is fun too. I just like the others better because they're more about tactics than violence. Of course there's tactics in football too, but the violent aspect is a big part of it as well."

"Hmm", Aidan thought about that. "I think baseball is my favorite."

"Really?" Mulder sounded happy. "Maybe you could join a team, Aidan."

"I don't know how to play."

"I'll teach you", Mulder said happily.

"Could I, mom?" Aidan looked so hopeful.

"I don't know", she looked at Mulder. "Is he old enough?"

"Sure he is, Scully. There's tee-ball for the young players. And when he gets really good he can move up to be in the Minor League."

"How do you know all this, Mulder?" Scully chuckled at his eagerness.

"Well, I saw a poster somewhere. They're looking for young players like Aidan", he said running a hand through Aidan's hair. "You could start playing this spring, Aidan. I'll teach you a few things beforehand."

"Thank you, Mulder", he said looking him deep in the eyes before throwing his arms around his neck.

"It's alright, Aidan", Mulder smiled, stroking his back. "It'll be fun for me too."

"Did you play when you were little?" Aidan asked him eyes wide.

"Yeah, I did", Mulder told him. "I played baseball and basketball right up to the day I moved to England."

"They don't play sports there?"

"Not the same sports. The big thing in England is soccer. They call it football though."

"They call soccer football?" Aidan seemed confused.

"Why?" Christopher piped in.

"Well, think about it; you really don't use your feet in American football. In soccer you do. It's a more logical name for the game."

"Football should be called handball", Thomas thought out loud.

"There already is a game called handball", Mulder told them. "It's pretty big in Europe and Asia."

"They could call it throwball then", Christopher suggested.

"That's a really good name, Chris", Mulder told him. "You should write a letter to the NFA and suggest it to them."

"Yeah", Christopher laughed. "I'll do that."

The evening went on like this. Before it became too dark outside they all played a game of throwball. Aidan and Thomas got to pick the teams because they were the youngest. Of course Aidan picked Mulder first and Thomas picked Charlie. Aidan also picked Christopher, Bill and Tara while Thomas got Mr. Scully and Scully. Jill and Mrs. Scully cheered from the porch where they were waving and laughing.

They had a lot of fun and even though they weren't playing exactly by the rules they all got into the game. Aidan made a few touchdowns and had the proudest little smile on his face as Mulder picked him up and ran with him on his shoulders. Charlie had played in high school though and even though they weren't playing really seriously it showed and Thomas' team was in the lead.

"What are you doing?" Scully asked Mulder as he stood in front of her.

"I'm covering you", he smiled at her.

She moved a little to the left only to have him move to his right following her.

"Don't do that, Mulder!" she giggled.

"Why not?"

"I'm gonna tackle you", she warned him.

"Oh really? Bring it on, Scully", he kept moving as she kept trying to escape him.

Finally the ball was kicked off and as Scully tried to run Mulder stepped in front of her. She ran into his chest and knocked him to the ground.

"Scully!" he gasped in surprise as he hit the ground with her on top of him.

Sitting up to straddle his stomach and pinning his arms to the ground she giggled at him. "I warned you, Mulder!"

"So you did", he tried to catch his breath.

Scully stood up and gave him a hand to help him to his feet as well.

"That was awesome, mom!" Aidan exclaimed running over to her.

"Hey!" Mulder sounded offended. "I'm on your team, Aidan! She tackled me!"

"Sorry", Aidan laughed. "But it looked really cool!"

"I bet it did", Mulder had to agree. "It didn't feel very good though."

"Don't be such a crybaby, Mulder!" Scully told him teasingly as she got back to her own side of the field.

As Christopher made a touchdown for Aidan's team the two teams both had 49 points and they decided to call it quits as it was getting darker outside.

Soon Mulder and Scully announced that they were leaving. Charlie and Bill were staying overnight because they lived so far away and Aidan was staying as well since Scully had work in the morning but Aidan didn't have school. They all said their good-byes before they finally got in the car and drove off.

"So…" Mulder said after driving in silence for a while. "Do you think your family likes me?"

"Yes", she smiled at him. "I think they like you very much."

"That's good", Mulder let out a sigh of relief. "It probably won't be the last time I see them."

"Probably not", Scully agreed. "You'll see them again for Christmas. And if Melissa's able to be there you can meet her as well. I think you'll really like her."

"I'm invited for Christmas?" Mulder said surprised.

"Sure. If you're not spending it with someone else?"

"I wasn't planning on it", he shrugged. "But are you sure it's alright with your family?"

"Of course", she chuckled. "They were all very impressed with you, Mulder!"

"Impressed?"

"Yeah. You're so good with Aidan, Mulder. You don't even realize how much you mean to him. And to me", she added in a whisper.

"He means a lot to me too, Scully", he assured her. "And you mean a lot to me too", he smiled at her and took her hand.

She tried not to blush as she smiled back at him and laced her fingers through his. She knew he meant as a friend but her heart told her otherwise as it beat away in her chest.

He pulled up in front of her apartment too soon for liking.

"I've had a good time today, Scully", he told her, taking her hand again. "Thank you so much."

"You don't need to thank me, Mulder. My motives for inviting you were purely selfish", she guaranteed him, smiling mischievously at him.

"Well", he moved closer to her in the car. "My motives for coming were purely selfish as well, Scully."

"Goodnight, Mulder", she chuckled at him.

"Goodnight, Scully", he smiled before reaching over to kiss her lips gently.

Her lips were so soft he nearly forgot to keep it clean. As his tongue darted out to caress her lower lip he pulled away quickly.

"Sorry", he chuckled nervously, looking into his lap.

"Don't be", she told him, caressing his cheek sweetly and then pressing a kiss to it before finally getting out of the car and walking inside.

That night Scully couldn't sleep. The feel of Mulder's tongue briefly in contact with her lip kept washing over her. She thought about how good it had felt to wake up on his naked chest. Soon a throbbing between her legs had emerged and she couldn't ignore it anymore.

She let her hand roam over her taught stomach and into her pajama pants and panties. As her hand slipped over her sex she moaned slightly imagining it was Mulder's hand. She brought two fingers to her opening and dipped them into her wetness. She couldn't remember ever being so wet for someone before, and all Mulder had done was graze her lip with his tongue. With all thought on his tongue she started to rub her two wet fingers over her clit. She bucked her hips at the feel of that. Closing her eyes she imagined Mulder's head between her thighs, his hands caressing her hips as his tongue played with her most sensitive area. Her fingers sped up at that image and she was moaning slightly now. She brought her other hand to her breast under her pajama top. As she squeezed it she remembered feeling Mulder's hard cock against her stomach earlier as he had been about to do just that. At that thought her climax overtook her and her whole body went rigid. As she had caught her breath again a couple of minutes later she turned on her night lamp and went to the bathroom to wash her hands. As she finally climbed back in bed she was exhausted and fell asleep quickly, feeling slightly guilty though. It wasn't that she didn't think masturbation was right. She masturbated on a regular basis. After she had met Mulder she had just had different fantasies while pleasing herself. Before it would be a stranger coming into her room at night, now it was Mulder. She felt guilty about using him for her dirty fantasies… but on the other hand, she was fairly sure he would be rather pleased with himself if she told him about it. Not that she would ever do that! No, that would be admitting how she felt about him. How she really felt. And that was a thing she would never do.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review. <strong>


	6. That's What Christmas Is All About

Chapter 6 – That's What Christmas Is All About

_Mulder's Apartment_

_December 6'th 1992, 5.05 pm_

"When will mom be here?" Aidan asked.

"She should be here in an hour", Mulder told him looking at his watch. "Do you miss her?"

"A little", he admitted. "But not a lot. It's fun to be at your place, Mulder."

"I'm glad you think so", Mulder smiled.

Aidan went back to his color book while Mulder turned back to his computer. He was just finishing up the report he was writing when Aidan spoke again.

"Can I watch TV?" he asked, now standing right next to Mulder.

"I don't know, Aidan. I have some work to do…"

"Don't you have a TV in your bedroom?"

"Oh yeah, that's right", Mulder remembered.

Scully had helped him clean out his apartment last weekend. She had stopped by a few days before and seen his place for the first time and she had been horrified. Now Mulder had a functioning bedroom and a fridge filled with groceries. He still slept on the couch and ordered out but it was nice living in a somewhat neat place. Scully had asked him if he wanted to have Aidan over from time to time now that he lived more welcoming and of course Mulder had agreed on the spot. This made Scully organize a porn drawer for him where he could keep all of his smut, out of Aidan´s reach. His eyes had widened in surprise as she had sorted through all of his porn. He didn't bother to tell her that the mental image of her pretty much did it for him these days, and that he only needed the porn as inspiration for all of his dirty Scully fantasies.

"I have a VCR in the bedroom as well", Mulder told Aidan. "You wanna watch a movie?"

"Okay", Aidan agreed and ran to the bedroom.

He was already sitting in the middle of the big bed when Mulder came into the room. Mulder couldn't help smiling at how little it made Aidan look.

"So, you wanna watch ET or Star Wars?" Mulder asked.

"Star Wars", Aidan decided quickly. "Return of the Jedi."

"Alright", Mulder said and found the tape.

"Mulder?" he said just as Mulder was about to close the door behind him.

"Yeah?"

"When you're done with your work, could you come in and watch the movie with me?" he asked sweetly.

"I'll be done soon but I need to make dinner for when your mom gets here. I'm sorry, Aidan."

"That's okay", he smiled to let his friend know there was no hard feelings. "What are we having for dinner?"

"Spaghetti if everything goes well. Pizza if it doesn't", Mulder had no problem admitting his lack of enthusiasm for cooking.

"It probably doesn't", Aidan chuckled.

"Ah, you know me so well, little guy", Mulder said and winked at Aidan before he closed the door and returned to his work.

When Mulder was finally done with the report he realized it had taken much more time than what he had calculated. Scully would be here in ten minutes. He didn't even have time to order a pizza if it had to get here before she did. Oh well, she would have to wait a few minutes, she probably wouldn't mind, he figured and made a phone call to the nearest pizza place. As he went in to check on Aidan, the little guy was fast asleep in Mulder's bed. Mulder turned the TV off and flicked the lights off as well as he left Aidan to sleep a few more minutes before dinner was ready.

Before long there was a knock on the door before Scully let herself into his place. He hadn't locked the door earlier since he knew Scully was coming.

"Hey", he said casually leaning against door frame separating the entrance and the living room.

"Hi, Mulder", she smiled at him as she shook her coat off her arms and hung it on the rack by the door. "Has Aidan been good?"

"Yup, he's been an angel", Mulder let her know as he entered the living room for her to follow.

As he sat down on the couch, Scully looked searching around the room.

"Where's Aidan?" she asked him frowning.

"Oh, he fell asleep in my bed. He was watching a movie in there because I had some work to do on the computer", he explained.

"Ah, I see", Scully relaxed visibly and sat down next to Mulder on the couch.

"How was your meeting, Scully?" he remembered.

"Rather dull", she chuckled. "I thought you would have dinner ready by the time I got here."

"Well… it'll be here in a few minutes. Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving", she sighed and leaned back in the couch with closed eyes.

Mulder couldn't help notice the few visible centimeters of Scully's upper breasts. She had opened a couple of buttons in her shirt. Mulder had no idea if he was drooling and quite frankly he didn't care. He felt like maybe he should look away or say something but right now he was too busy trying to remember every single detail of the top of Scully's breasts. He knew it was pathetic to get excited about this but he just couldn't help himself.

"Mulder!" Scully said for the third time.

"Hm?" he reluctantly pulled his eyes from her chest to meet her eyes.

"I asked you what we're having for dinner."

"Ehm… pizza."

"With mushrooms?" her eyes lit up.

"And green peppers", he smiled knowingly.

"Oh, Mulder, you're a darling", she chuckled.

"Thank you, Scully", he laughed at her endearment.

Scully moved to stand up but stopped midway with a grunt and sat back down again.

"What is it, Scully? What's wrong?" Mulder was on his knees in front of her in no time.

"Relax, Mulder", she chuckled sighing. "My back is just a little sore from sitting in that lousy chair for hours."

"Oh. Let me help you", he said and sat down next to her again but this time with his legs spread.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'll give you a back rub", he smiled at her and patted the space between his legs.

"Really? You want to give me a massage?" she tried to hide her excitement.

"Yes, Scully."

"And you want nothing in return?"

"No", he laughed. "Why would I want something in return?"

"Well, nobody's ever offered me a massage without asking for something in return."

"C'mon, Scully, it's no problem", he padded the space between his legs once again as his eyes held hers.

She thought about it for two seconds before moving to sit between his thighs. At soon as his talented hands were working out the tensions in her back she couldn't help but moan at the sensation. She had had wonderful massages before but never had anything felt as great as Mulder's hands on her back. She wondered if his hands would cover her entire back if he spread them. They felt big but yet his touch was gentle.

"Good?" he asked as another moan escaped her throat.

She could hear he was smirking but she was enjoying it too much to even care about that. "Yeah", she managed to breathe out.

"I think this is a personal best for me actually", he whispered in her ear, making her shiver – she hoped he didn't notice.

"Hm, how's that?" she tried to sound nonchalant.

"I've never made anyone moan without at least touching her bare skin."

The thought of his hands on her bare skin send another shiver through her. There was no way he hadn't felt that but he made no indication that he had, he only kept moving his hands lower on her back. Scully's head was spinning. The loud knock on the door startled her and she nearly fell off the couch. If Mulder hadn't pulled her back, grabbing her hips with his hands, she would have been sitting on the floor instead of having her butt pressed against Mulder's erection. She gasped; shocked by the loud knock on the door, the big hands grabbing her firmly and the fact that Mulder was hard.

"Ehm… That's probably the pizza guy", Mulder said.

"Okay", Scully had no idea what to do.

When he knocked again she got up from the couch and Mulder moved to the door. As she went to the bedroom to awaken Aidan she couldn't help wonder why Mulder had been that hard. Had it been her moaning or had it been the fact that it was _her_ doing the moaning. She hoped for the latter.

"Aidan? Dinner is ready", she spoke softly running her hand through his wild red hair.

"Mommy?" he murmured – he only called her mommy when he was really sleepy and Scully couldn't help smile when he did.

"Yes, honey, it's mommy."

"Pizza?"

"Yes", she chuckled. "Are you hungry?"

Aidan grabbed his stomach, as if trying to feel if he was hungry, and thought for a few seconds.

"Yep", he concluded.

"Good. Go wash your hands before we eat, okay?"

"Alright", he agreed and rolled off of the bed.

When Scully returned to the living room she could hear Mulder rummaging around in the kitchen. As she entered Mulder was lighting a few candles at the round table which was set for three people with three plates and the pizza box in the middle of the table.

"Is Aidan still sleeping?" he asked her smiling as he lit the last candle.

"No, he's just washing his hands", she told him and sat down. "God, this smells good!"

"Yeah, I know right? The smell of pizza is the second best smell in the world!" he told her as he sat down at the table as well.

"Second best? What's the best then?"

"Oh, Scully", he chuckled. "That would be you."

"Me?" she laughed. "I smell better than pizza?"

"You sure do", he admitted.

"Wow, Mulder. Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome, Scully", he winked at her.

As soon as Aidan joined them in the kitchen they started eating. Normally Aidan would talk his way through dinner, and Scully would have to tell him not to talk with food in his mouth at least five times, but tonight the little man was tired. Mulder had tried talking about school and baseball but nothing had initiated a real conversation.

"So, Aidan, what do you want for Christmas?" finally Mulder hit home, and Aidan's eyes grew as big as saucers at Mulder's question.

"Christmas? Are you spending Christmas with me?" he sounded surprised.

"Of course he is", Scully answered him.

"Cool", Aidan smiled. "Well… there's a lot of things I'd like for Christmas. Can I write you a list?"

"Sure", Mulder chuckled, remembering how long his own Christmas lists used to be.

"Can I write it now?" he looked pleadingly at Scully.

"Are you done eating?"

"Yes."

"Okay then", she agreed with a smile.

"Aidan", she made him stop in his tracks as he was running towards the living room where his paper and pens were. "Carry your plate to the sink first."

"Okay", he sighed and quickly carried the plate from the table to the sink before running to the living room.

"So where are we spending Christmas?" Mulder asked taking another slice of pizza.

"At my parents' house, Mulder! I told you already", she rolled her eyes at him.

"You did?" he asked, mouth full of pizza.

"Yes", she sighed. "You don't remember? At the ride home from Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house I asked you and you agreed."

"Oh that's right", he nodded. "You said your sister might come."

"Yeah. Well, I don't know if she will. We probably won't find out before the last second. That's Melissa for you", she chuckled.

"She's not as… organized, as you?"

"No", Scully laughed. "Melissa is very different from me!"

"But you get along?"

"Yes, we do. I've often wondered why we don't argue more often. We disagree on a lot of things but it never really leads to any disputes. Sometimes, but it's very rare. She does get angry when I try to explain something scientifically", Scully smiles at the memories of her sister telling her to 'open up' and 'believe'.

"She's your older sister, right?"

"Yeah, she is. I always had to look after her though. You won't believe the kind of trouble she has gotten us into in the past."

"What kind of trouble?" Mulder asked suggestively leaning in on Scully.

"The worst kind", Scully said mysteriously, a smile playing on her lips.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_December 20'th 1992, 7 pm_

"Mulder?" Aidan said wondering.

"Yeah?" Mulder looked up from the game of Monopoly they were playing on the floor in Aidan's room.

"Do you like my mom?"

"Of course I like you mom", Mulder smiled. "She's a very nice lady."

"I mean, do you think she's pretty?" Aidan tried to specify.

"Yeah, she's beautiful", Mulder couldn't help smile.

"You're not in love with her, are you?" he asked in horror.

"In love? Why do you ask that?" Mulder had been surprised by the question. Aidan had never indicated that he was wondering about their relationship before.

"You can't marry my mom, Mulder!" he told him strictly. "She doesn't need a man, she has me!"

"I'm not marrying your mom, Aidan", Mulder tried to calm him down. "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Well… Bobby from school… he said that his mom was marrying a new guy that wasn't his dad. And that his mom had said he was her friend. You're my mom's friend…"

"Don't worry, Aidan. Your mom isn't marrying me. But someday she may marry someone else; you can't stop that from happening."

"But I don't want her to get married", Aidan frowned.

"Why not, Aidan?"

"I just don't want it!" he raised his voice.

"Okay, Aidan, I'm sorry I asked", Mulder quickly tried to soothe him; he couldn't stand when Aidan was mad at him or sad.

"I think it's your bedtime now, little guy", Mulder said after checking his watch.

"Do I get a bedtime story?" he pleaded with his puppy eyes.

"Go to the bathroom first and brush your teeth", Mulder told him getting up from the floor. "Call me when you're in your pajamas, okay?"

"Alright", Aidan agreed and padded to the bathroom while Mulder went to the living room.

Scully was sitting on the couch reading something. God, she _was_ beautiful. Before Mulder could announce his presence the phone rang. Mulder just leaned against the wall, deciding to wait until she had finished the call and just watch her for a little while longer.

Scully had been reading a medical journal when the phone rang. The noise had broken her out of her reading trance and as she answered the phone routinely she was thrilled to hear the voice of her caller.

"Hey Melissa", Scully answered her sister. "Are we gonna see you this Christmas?"

"_I'm sorry Dana, but I can't make it this year._"Melissa informed her sadly.

"Why not?" Scully demanded to know.

"_I've been invited to this really big Christmas event in California, and I just can't say no. I'll try to make it next year though, I promise._"

"Melissa!" Scully whined. "It's been ages since I last saw you. I miss you. Aidan misses you too."

"_I know, Dana. I feel like such a bad aunt. As soon as I have time I'll come and visit the two of you, okay?_"

"Sure. Fine. Whatever."

"_Dana? Are you really mad at me?_" Melissa asked with the saddest voice she could muster.

"Of course not", Scully sighed. "I wish I was though, you deserve it!"

"_I know, I know. I really do miss the two of you, Dana._"

"Yeah, I know", she smiled. "It's just… I really wanted you to meet Mulder."

From Scully's side of the conversation Mulder had gathered that Melissa wouldn't be joining them for Christmas. At the mention of his name though, he held his breath. Now he was officially eavesdropping.

"_You always talk about this Mulder guy. Are you sure he's nothing more than a friend?_"

"Melissa…" Scully chuckled. "Of course I'm sure. Mulder's just a good friend."

"_Hm, really? So how does he look?_"

"Ehm… well he's tall and lean. Brown hair, green eyes."

"_So you think he's handsome?_"

"Yeah, sure. He's very handsome", Scully admitted.

Mulder's smile grew even bigger. Of course he knew Scully liked the way he looked, but it was nice to hear it.

"_Dana, Charlie's already told me, you don't have to lie to me, you know?_"

"Oh dear…" she sighed. "What has he said?"

"_Well, he said he walked in on you and Mulder. That Mulder had his hand under up your shirt._" Melissa was giggling.

"That's all that happened though. Charlie walked in on us and we didn't even get to the good stuff."

"_So he didn't… touch anything?_"

"No. None of the important things anyway. I mean… he probably would have, if it weren't for Charlie."

"_Are you sure you're just friends, Dana? You haven't kissed or anything?_"

"Actually… we kiss all the time. Not passionate or anything! Just small chaste kisses. And we do flirt a lot. Not in front of Aidan of course, I don't want to confuse him or anything. But I just… he's nice. And he's a very, very good friend. I-I trust him."

"_Just a friend, Dana? It kinda sounds like you're in love with the guy to me._"

"In love?" Scully asked terrified. She hadn't thought she would be that easy to read.

Oh God, Mulder was sure Scully could hear his heart beating in anticipation. He longed for her answer to be yes. If just Scully would admit to her sister that she was in love with him. Then he would know.

"MULDER!" Aidan called from his bedroom making Scully turn around on the couch and seeing Mulder stand by the living room entrance.

Mulder's eyes widened in horror. He had been caught. He quickly turned on his heels and went to Aidan while he heard Scully hang up the phone. He heard Scully enter the room while he was reading Aidan his bedtime story. When Aidan was finally sleeping he kissed his forehead before meeting Scully's eyes. She didn't look too mad, he thought. She signaled for him to follow her as she went back to the living room. Killing the lights and shutting the door very slowly after him he soon joined her in the living room, too soon. She padded the couch next to herself and he sat down gingerly.

"How long were you listening, Mulder?" she asked him calmly.

"All along", he admitted looking at his hands in his lap. "I was just waiting for you to finish your call… I didn't know you were gonna talk about… me."

"Of course not", Scully laid her arm on his shoulder. "How could you have known, Mulder?"

He looked surprised at her. "You're not mad at me?"

"No", she smiled at him. "I'm a little embarrassed, but I'm not mad at you."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Scully. You said some nice things about me."

"Well, I feel kinda dumb now", she chuckled nervously.

"Don't be", he told her taking her hand. "I could say some things about you, and then we would be equal. Would that make you feel better?"

"Okay", she smiled at him. "Let me ask you the questions my sister asked me."

"Sure", he smiled, happy she was playing along.

"How do I look?" she began.

"You're very short", he started chuckling – making her give him an icy glare. "It's just the right height for you though. You have an amazing body, the most beautiful fiery red hair and the coolest ice blue eyes."

Mulder knew he was being a lot more elaborate than Scully had been, but she didn't seem to mind the least – she was smiling at him, biting her under lip as she remembered the next question.

"Am I beautiful?"

"Yes", he answered immediately, his eyes holding hers.

"And when you had your hand up my shirt that time Charlie disturbed us, did you touch anything?"

"Only your soft skin. But not nearly as much as I wanted to."

Scully gulped before she was able to remember the next question.

"Have you ever kissed me?" her voice was nothing more than a whisper now.

Somehow they had moved closer on the couch and Scully was nearly sitting in his lap.

"I've kissed your lips a thousand times. But only quick", he wanted to say more. He wanted to tell her how he wanted to kiss her. But somehow that would be too intimate. Sure, he could admit how attracted he was to her. How much he wanted to touch her. But wanting to kiss her? That was such a loving action, one that would reveal how he truly felt about her. How he wasn't sure she felt about him.

They sat like this for many minutes. Just looking into each other's eyes. He kept feeling this desperate need to tell her everything. That he was in love with her, and that he loved her more than he had ever loved anything. Meanwhile she was wondering if he was gonna tell her more. Sometimes it looked as if he was just about to say something but he seemed to regret it every time.

XxXxX

_Scullys' Residence _

_December 25'th 1992, 6 am_

"Mulder", he hears her soft voice.

She has a beautiful voice. He knows he's dreaming but it's such a nice dream. He can almost feel her hand in his hair. He's kissing her now. Not like he normally does – nothing chaste – he's really kissing her. With all the passion he possesses in his heart. He moves her hand down his body. Out of his hair, over his mouth – kissing her fingers as they touch his lips, down his chest and stomach until it's finally where he wants it.

"MULDER!"

Oh fuck, Mulder thinks. He holds a breath as he opens just one eye, confirming that Scully is indeed sitting on the edge of the couch in her parents' living room, where Mulder has slept during the night.

"Shit!" he exclaims panicky. "God, I'm sorry, Scully, I-I didn't know, I swear, I was dreaming, I…"

"Ssh, Mulder", she calmed him down and gave him a little smile. "I know."

"You know?"

"Yes, I know you were dreaming. Ehm… could you let go of my hand now?"

He looked down to see his own hand holding hers to the bulge in his boxers.

"Sorry", he mumbled again as he released her hand.

Deciding to ignore his apology she gave him her best smile and said, "Merry Christmas, Mulder."

"Merry Christmas, Scully", he chuckled, with all the excitement he had completely forgotten which day it was.

"I have a present for you, Mulder – I know we said no gifts but I changed my mind. I want you to open it before everyone else will be up."

"I have something for you as well", he smiled and sat up on the couch, pulling the blanket up to cover his morning glory.

She pulled the small rapped present from the pocket in her robe while he presented a gift from under his pillow. They exchanged the presents and began to tear at the gift wrappings.

Scully was first to open hers. It was a long velvet box and as she opened it she saw the most beautiful bracelet. The chain was gold and it had ten oval rubies in it. It was beautiful, simple and classic. Mulder had stopped unwrapping his gift as he tried to read Scully's expression while she studied the bracelet. She tore her eyes from the beautiful present to Mulder's eyes.

"Thank you, Mulder", she said very sincerely.

Mulder had counted on her to tell him it was too much but she didn't. She just smiled a friendly little smile that made his heart melt like butter.

"C'mon, Mulder", she chuckled as he didn't start to unwrap his gift. "You're so slow."

"Sorry", he chuckled himself as he tore the paper off.

Mulder smiled as he saw the watch she had picked out for him. It was a nice classic watch with a brown leather strap, date display and numbers. Not just markings like most watches these days. Mulder remember having complained about not being able to find a new watch that he liked because either they were a real eyesore or they didn't have numbers. He instantly removed his old watch, which only had markings and which drove him crazy, and put on his new one.

"Thanks", he beamed at her. "I love it, Scully."

"Good", she smiled back and let him embrace her in a hug.

As soon as this moment was over everything seemed to speed up. The day went by in a haze. Mulder felt so confused the whole time. The children were acting crazy, the grownups were desperately trying to control the situation and everybody kept asking him questions about his family. "So where are your parents spending Christmas?" Mulder honestly didn't know. "Don't you wanna call them and wish them a merry Christmas?" No, not really – it's not like they care enough about him to call. "Where did you use to spend Christmas when you were a child?" "How long have your parents been divorced? That must have been tough as a kid." "How often do you speak to your family?" "Do you have any family besides your parents?"

Mulder's head was swimming. He had thought Christmas would be fun but it was taking a radical turn. All their stupid questions made him think about Samantha. Of course they couldn't know, nobody but Scully knew, but these people couldn't take a hint. And Scully wasn't around to keep the smile on his face. Neither was Aidan. They were sitting by the tree, Aidan between Scully's legs, as they were unwrapping their gifts. They were beautiful together like that. Scully's whole face lit up every time Aidan liked one of his gifts and she kept kissing his chubby cheeks. They were about halfway through the stack of gifts Aidan had gotten. Now he was about to unwrap a poorly wrapped boxed shape one in green wrappings. Mulder knew that gift, he had wrapped it himself. As Aidan read the name on the card he smiled at Mulder before starting to unwrap it. Mulder smiled back and his stomach twisted in knots, he was nervous now. What if Aidan didn't like what Mulder had gotten for him? It hadn't been on his long list.

He had had no reason to worry though because as Aidan saw the baseball glove and ball his whole face lit up. Mulder noticed how big Scully's smile grew as well. As Scully whispered something in Aidan's ear, the little guy ran to Mulder.

"Thank you, Mulder", he said shyly standing in front of him.

"You're welcome, Aidan", Mulder smiled at him.

Aidan climbed onto Mulder and gave him a big squeeze.

"I'm glad you're my friend, Mulder", he whispered warily.

"Me too, Aidan."

Aidan let out a sigh of relief at Mulder's words. He was just about to go back to his mom when he stopped in his tracks.

"Mulder… do you wanna come see me unwrap my presents?"

"Oh…" Mulder was shocked he had been invited to join Aidan and Scully on the floor. "Yes, of course."

As soon as Mulder was sitting there with Scully watching Aidan's face lit up every time he reached for a new gift it all made sense again. This is what Christmas is all about, he thought to himself. Being with the people you love, doing your best to make them happy. Much to Mulder's surprise, Scully and Aidan seemed even happier now Mulder had joined them. Soon there were no more gifts left to unwrap. Everybody was done but the Christmas spirit was still there. The lights from the Christmas tree, the smell of cinnamon, the children playing with their new toys and the look of bliss on everybody's faces – that's what Christmas is all about, Mulder thought again.

After hours of joy in the living room Mulder finally went to the bathroom. As he returned to the living room again he nearly bumped into Scully in the doorway.

"You have to kiss now!" Charlie exclaimed.

"What?" Scully looked absolutely shocked as she looked back at Charlie.

"Look up", Charlie told them.

They both looked up to see the mistletoe hanging above them. As their gazes dropped their eyes met and a second later their lips. Mulder had bent slightly to caress her lips with his own. It was a chaste, innocent and joyful kiss, and neither Mulder nor Scully could stop themselves from thinking; that's what Christmas is all about.

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><p><strong>Please review.<strong>


	7. The Breakdown

**Quick update, woohoo. This is actually the chapter I wrote first - even before chapter 1. The idea came to me in a dream and I just had to get it out of my head. I realized I couldn't start a story like this so I worked my way back to chapter 1 and then filled in the blanks and *kaboom* - six chapters later I'm back where I started. I have more ideas for this story though, this is not the end. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. :-)**

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><p>Chapter 7 – The Breakdown<p>

_Scully's Apartment_

_January 22'nd 1993, 8.15 pm_

"Mulder? What are you doing here?" Scully asked him as she let him enter her apartment.

"Aidan forgot his coloring book", he told her with a sad smile.

"Oh… You could have waited till the morning to bring it over. I don't think he's gonna need it right now", she giggled nervously, feeling Mulder wasn't his happy, lighthearted self.

"Right. I am sorry – I shouldn't have come over. I mean Aidan's probably sleeping, I don't want to wake him", he said and stepped towards the door.

"Aidan's sleeping at a friend's house tonight", Scully told him, closing the door behind her before he got any closer. "Is something wrong, Mulder?"

Her words were like a slap in the face. How could she know something was wrong? He hadn't even known himself until now. She looked at him with her patient, blue eyes, waiting for him to answer her question.

"I…" he felt himself cracking on the inside, like he did every year. "She…"

As Scully saw the first tear spill she was instantly by his side, wiping it away with her thumb. Surprising her, he put his arms around her waist and placed his crying face into the crook of her neck, his tears soaking the neckline of her blue sweater. She closed her own arms around his neck, as she tried to sooth him, running her hand up and down his back.

Mulder felt himself weaken. It was like all the pressure he had endured throughout his whole life came crashing down on him, exhausting him, draining him of all his powers. Slowly he fell to his knees, and Scully went down with him. Before long she was sat against the door while Mulder still had his arms around her waist and his tearstained face in the crook of her neck. He was half lying, half sitting between her legs, as she continued to comfort him.

"It's alright, Mulder", she said running her hand through his thick brown hair. "I'm right here."

After a few minutes his sobs had subsided. She kept running her hand through his hair, as she felt it calmed him.

"Today would have been her 29'th birthday", Mulder finally said.

Scully didn't have to ask who. Ever since his first tear had been shed she had known what caused him his pain. She didn't say anything; she just let him spill his heart, and tell her about what had been bottled up for more than 20 years.

"I know it wasn't my fault, I tried to… I was paralyzed, Scully. But I was… I'm her big brother; I'm supposed to protect her. I remember what my mother told me right before they went out. She said to me; 'I trust you, Fox. Take good care of your sister while we're gone.' Samantha and I got into a fight right before… the blackout. I told her to get out of my life, Scully. But I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it, I didn't want it to happen…" his tears started falling again.

"Ssh, Mulder", she tried to calm him again, as she felt his arms around her tighten, holding onto her. "It wasn't your fault. Your sister loved you", she assured him, telling him what he wanted to hear more than anything. "And you love her, Mulder. She knows you love her, and she knows you tried to protect her."

"You think so, Scully?" he asked, longing for her words to be true.

"I know so, Mulder. I know so", she assured him.

"Thanks", he whispered, lifting his head from her shoulder to kiss her cheek.

He reluctantly let go of her and got up from the floor, helping her up in the process.

"Thank you", he said again, and drew her in for another hug.

"You don't have to thank me, Mulder", she told him locking her arms around his neck once again. "I'm your friend."

"You're my best friend, Scully. I love you", he nearly whispered, his voice filled with sincerity, but fear of rejection as well.

Scully took his face in her hands and looked him deep into his sparkling green eyes before kissing his forehead, letting her lips linger on his skin a little longer than she would have with anyone else. Then she rested her own forehead against his, closing her eyes as she said it. "I love you too, Mulder."

He caressed her cheek, making her look him in the eyes once more. At first she gave him a little smile. Then she saw what his eyes held for her. It was a longing she had never seen in his eyes before. A desire; one he held for her. His face slowly lowered against hers, giving her time to back away if she wanted to. But she didn't. She wanted it as much as he did.

He couldn't believe himself at first. This was Dana Scully. The most beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman he had ever met. This was Aidan's mom. There was no chance she would ever reciprocate his feelings. There was no way she could love someone like him. Not as more than a friend anyway. But she didn't back away when he told her how he felt, that he loved her. She didn't slap him across the face and told him to get out. She merely closed her eyes as he was only a few inches from her, and parted her lips slightly in anticipation.

As his lips gently grazed hers, she felt her stomach flip-flop and a heat rise in her lower regions. She moaned into their kiss as his arms around her waist held her close to him. In sync they opened their mouths to each other and their tongues danced as if they had been doing so for years. Oh God, even with all the chaste little kisses they had shared in the past, nothing could have prepared them for how truly, passionately kissing each other would be like. His hands found their way to her ass and as he squeezed it and she felt his erection hard against her stomach she feared she might come on the spot. She moaned deeply running her hands through his hair as their kiss kept progressing.

He couldn't believe what was happening. The Dana Scully he had tried to hide his feelings from for so long seemed to reciprocate them. Her moaning into their kiss made his heart swell and his body temperature rise. He was so hot for her. And yet he was utterly surprised when she tugged at the sweatshirt he was wearing. He didn't ask any questions though. If Scully wanted him to take his clothes off he was happy to oblige. He broke their kiss for the first time and pulled the sweatshirt over his head and threw it to the floor. Her curious blue eyes went from his eyes and down his body admiringly as she ran her hands over his chest and stomach. Her hands reached his jeans and as she moved to unbutton them he couldn't restrain a groan. As she pulls the jeans down his legs he kicks off his sneakers quickly before stepping out of the jeans. She slowly moves her hands up his legs as she stands back up and lets them end on his ass.

He pulls her closer and kisses her neck. He sucks, licks, and gently bites just the right places. She can't get over how amazing his ass is and she moves her hands down into his boxers to feel it up better. Jesus, that's a great ass, she thinks, as she grabs it over and over again, massaging his buttocks with need and lust. She feels his hands moving up under her sweater and his hands on her bare skin sends shivers up her spine. Moving her hands from him she holds up her arms and let him pull the sweater off of her. With his hands on her hips their lips meet again. Her hands roam his hair as his hands moves up to her bra to unhook it. The strapless bra falls to the ground and her bare breasts against his chest make them both moan excited into their kiss. His right hand is closing in on her right breast while he is holding her close to him with his other hand. Her hips bucks unwillingly against his at the attention he pays to her breast. He runs his thumb over the nipple causing her to utter; "Oh, Jesus, fuck me, Mulder!"

With every intention to do just that he picks her up with his hands on her jeans covered butt and she locks her legs around his waist as he moves towards the bedroom. Their tongues keep wrestling and their breaths keep quickening before he kicks the bedroom door open and walks her over to her bed where he gently lays her down. For a few moments he just stands there looking at her. She is still wearing her light jeans but nothing else. Her breasts move tantalizing as she breathes in and out.

She feels wanted under his gaze and she can't wait to have him inside of her. As she rolls her hips at the mere thought of it he is snapped out of his trance and he moves to pull her jeans and panties down all at once. She rises her butt as he peels the remaining clothes off of her and watches as he steps out of his own boxers. He is hard and he is big. She instantly reaches out for him and as he lowers himself over her she is already stroking his impressing length.

He moves her hand from his cock, even though it's amazing. He is so close already and he doesn't want to embarrass himself by coming in her hand. He pins her hands to the bed above their heads as they kiss again. Her lips move fiercely against his and he knows she wants him as much as he wants her. He moves his kisses down her neck and down to her breasts. God, she is already moaning. And her moaning is fucking hot, it has him seeing stars. As he sucks down hard on her nipple she can't help thrust her pelvis upwards which causes contact between his hard member and her dripping wet sex. He can't believe her wetness and how ready she is for him. They both groan at the contact.

"Please, Mulder", she begs him moaning.

He has no wish to fight her. He widen her legs a bit more before settling between them as he rests on his elbows and forearms. Her breasts and hardened nipples are gracing his chest which feels amazing. Their mouths meet once again and as they kiss she guides the head of his penis to her entrance. They moan loudly at this new contact. She moves both her hands to his back and she can feel his every muscle on high alert. He eases himself into her.

"Mmh, you feel amazing, Mulder", she moans to him.

He can't believe how tight she is. This woman has given birth? Ah, no thinking about giving birth! Back to Scully, her tight pussy, and her moaning as he has eased himself out and thrusts back into her.

"Am I hurting you?" he can't help asking as he has thrust into her a couple of times.

"God no!" she tells him, cupping his cheek. "You're doing it just right."

He catches her lips with his own as he picks up his speed. Her hips move to meet his thrusts every time as they move in perfect timing to one another. As her moaning intensify he keeps thrusting harder into her with every stroke and before long she is crying out his name; "Mulder, Mulder, oh God, YES!" she screams as her body goes rigid under his and he feels her walls clenching around him, milking him as he keeps thrusting into her, letting her ride out her orgasm. He fights hard not to come. He clenches his teeth together and focuses on his thrusts. In, out, in out, in, out.

"Mulder, stop!" her voice reaches him and he stops moving as he is inside of her.

He looks into her eyes with so much worry, concerned he has done something wrong.

"Let me be on top?" she asks him, smiling wickedly.

He smirks as he rolls onto his back, and she instantly straddles him. Her hands grasp his shoulders as she starts moving on top of him. Oh God, she's amazing. His hands on her hips move up to cup her breasts and she shoves them further into his hands as she arches her back. He moves his face nearer her bosom as he takes her breast into his mouth. "Mmh, so good, Mulder!" she moans in between her sharp breaths.

"Mulder… so close… already…" she moans out between her unintelligible statements. He moves his hands to her hips again as he helps her move faster and harder down on him.

"Oh, fuck me! Scully!" he groans, as he feels his balls tighten, telling him he is just about to come.

"Oh yes, Mulder!" she cries out as another orgasm rushes through her, instigating his own orgasm. She's moaning on top of him while he thrusts upwards in to her, and they're coming together.

As she comes to she is collapsed on Mulder's chest panting hard. She can feel him soften inside of her, as their shared fluids run down her thigh and onto the mattress. His arms are around her holding her to him and she feels so incredulously safe. She feels the cool air against her hot and sweaty skin. Moving off of him to slide down to his side she sighs content as she cuddles up to him.

He can't describe how happy he is. At Scully's content sigh he knows she loves him the same way he loves her. If this had just been a way to satisfy some primal need she would be regretting doing it with him. If he was only a friend she wouldn't be content she had just given him the best fuck of his life; the most intense experience he has ever had. She would be fleeing for the bathroom or moving away from him, expecting him to leave. Instead she cuddles up to him and lays her hand on his chest. She's happy, he can feel it. And if she's happy, so is he.

Right before they fell asleep she feels him pulling the covers up over their naked bodies. She kisses his chest and mumbles; "I love you", as she drifts off to sleep.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_January 23'rd 1993, 7.47 am_

As Scully awakens she feels disorientated but for no obvious reason. She is in her own bedroom, in her own apartment, yet everything feels so very different. As flashbacks of her lovemaking to Mulder the night before flashes over her a smile is tugging at her lips. It soon disappears though as she realize she is alone in her bed. But he had said he loved her. Hadn't he? She tried to remember, and realized that he hadn't alone said it, he had said it first. But that was before they made love. Had he only meant as a friend? Had she been reading too much into his words? She felt the tears sting her eyes, as she came to the conclusion that last night had only been about comforting Mulder. The fact that she was in love with him and had been freer than ever with him, he hadn't known, and he hadn't wanted to know. She had always been kind of withholding in bed and had never let herself open up to someone as she had with Mulder last night. She could live with being his best friend as long as it meant having him in his life; she had just hoped that last night meant that he too had romantic feelings for her.

She sat up in bed and threw her feet to the floor. As she sat there looking out the window she felt dirty. She was naked and crying. She loved Mulder so much, how could he use her like this? As her tears fell silently into her lap she heard a noise coming from the door behind her followed by his voice.

"Oh, you're up!" he said cheery before jumping onto the bed, scooting over to sit right behind her, his naked chest against her back.

"I've made breakfast", he tells her kissing her neck with his arms around her.

"Scully? Are you crying?" he asks her, turning her head with his finger on her chin.

She looks down. Embarrassed about the thoughts she just had of Mulder and the fact that she was crying. "I'm sorry", she managed to sob.

"Oh, Scully", he said caringly, pulling her into his lap, her head in the crook of his neck. "What's wrong?"

"I thought you had left", she whispered. "I thought you didn't love me."

"Scully", he chuckled. "Of course I love you, you silly woman."

"And I love you", she told him, sniffling.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he told her, tenderly running his hand up and down her back. "And you're so sexy. Last night was unbelievable, Scully."

"It was?" she asked in disbelief, making him chuckle. "I mean; I don't have a lot of experience. I have never even had an orgasm like that before, so…"

"What do you mean?" he cut her off. "An orgasm like what?"

"I mean…" her cheeks turned red but she kept looking into his eyes. "I have never let myself go like I did with you last night, Mulder. I have always been preserved. Of course I have had good sex, decent sex, I've just never had an orgasm during intercourse before."

"So I am the first to ever make you come?" he asks her with pride, and a smirk on his face.

"Well… no. You're the first to make me come like that", she tells him.

It takes a few seconds before he gets what she's saying. "Ahh", he exclaims at the realization. "The good old cunnilingus!"

"Yeah", she chuckles.

"I like to perform oral sex", he informs her licking his lips.

"Mulder!" she blushes.

"I bet you taste great, don't you, Scully?" he says, lust evident in his dark eyes.

"I haven't showered since yesterday morning, and I have had mind blowing sex since then, so right now, I think the answer would be; hell no!" she tells him, even though she can feel herself getting hot for him at his suggestion.

"How about we eat some breakfast", he says kissing her neck. "Take a shower", another kiss. "And return to bed?" he asks her with more small kisses to her neck.

"I would like that very much", she tells him.

"Great, I'll go set the table while you find something to wear", he says as she gets up from the bed and walks towards her dresser. "If you feel you must put on clothes", he adds making her chuckle.

He is pouring them coffee as she joins him in the kitchen, wearing an oversized t-shirt and panties. She gives him a gentle kiss on the mouth before sitting down. She's glad he's just wearing jeans as she rather enjoys the view of his bare chest.

"I didn't know you could cook, Mulder", she says amazed as she looks at the full breakfast he has prepared for her.

"Well the eggs might be slightly burned. I did the best I could though", he tells her taking her hand.

"You shouldn't do stuff like this, Mulder", she tells him, with a smile. "I might get used to it."

"You can get use to it all you want, Scully. I'm not going anywhere."

After eating in comfortable silence for a while, sharing a few kisses and caresses, there's a hard knock on the door.

"Are you expecting someone?" he asks her jokingly.

"Actually I'm expecting a package", she says about to get up.

"Let me", he stops her. "I can sign it for you, you just enjoy your breakfast", he says and gives her a kiss on the cheek before getting the door.

"Mulder!" Aidan says happily as he sees his friend open the door.

"Aidan?" Mulder says surprised as Aidan is standing there with Scully's friend Ellen.

"What's up, little man?" he asks him picking him up as Aidan wants to hug him.

"I had a nightmare, so I wanted mommy", he says sad.

"Aw, Aidan", Mulder says comforting. "What was it about?" he asks him, opening the door for Ellen to enter as well.

"There was a big shark man and he wanted to bite my butt", he said outraged.

"It wanted to bite you butt?" Mulder said surprised, sitting back down in his chair, with Aidan in his lap. "You know it was just a dream, right, Aidan?"

"I know, but it was scary", he said.

Silence emerged, as Scully stood up to talk to Ellen. She didn't know what to say.

"So… thanks for driving Aidan home", she went for, playing it safe.

"That's okay. I called you about an hour ago, but you were probably still sleeping…"

"Yeah, yeah I was sleeping an hour ago", Scully said looking down, seeing Aidan yawn out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you okay now, Aidan?" she asks him. "You wanna go back to sleep?"

Aidan nods yawning again, and Mulder stands up and walk Aidan to his bedroom carrying him on his hip.

"Oh. My. God!" Ellen exclaims as Mulder has left the room.

"Shut up, Ellen", Scully says, but can't stop smiling.

"I knew the two of you were doing it! I mean, Jesus, Dana! Who wouldn't wanna do him? And the way he's always looking at you, I just knew…"

"It's not like that, Ellen", Scully cuts her off blushing. "We're in love. And we only found out last night that we're feeling the same way about each other."

"How did you find out?"

"Well..."

"Tell me everything, Dana!" Ellen exclaims dragging her towards the couch. "Was he good?"

"Ellen!" Dana chuckles at her friend's eagerness. "Isn't Trent waiting in the car?"

"Oh yeah, he is", Ellen says disappointed at the mention of her awaiting son. "But I'll call you later and you better tell me everything!"

"Okay, Ellen", Scully chuckles, as she sees her out.

As Scully closes the door behind her friend and turns around Mulder pins her to the door. She's surprised at first but welcomes his kisses. Before long they are making out up against the door.

"Aidan's asleep", Mulder states. "You wanna take that shower now?"

"Only if you join me", she agrees teasingly as she takes his hand and walks towards the bathroom.

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><p><strong>Finally, huh? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter – you think their happiness is gonna last? Please review and let me know what you're thinking. <strong>


	8. Together And Away

Chapter 8 – Together And Away

_Scully's Apartment_

_January 29'th 1993, 8.30 pm_

"Mulder, do you wanna play with me?" Aidan asked sweetly.

Mulder was busy trying to wipe an impossible stain off the carpet before Scully returned from the bedroom.

"I can't play right now, Aidan", he said without looking up from the floor.

"What are you doing?" Aidan grinned.

"I was just watching a movie and there was an explosion and it surprised me so I dropped my soda and now I can't get this stain off your mother's carpet… do you think she'll kill me?"

Mulder was looking up for the first time since Aidan started talking to him and the big grin on Aidan's face made him relax slightly.

"You think I'm overreacting, kid?"

Aidan just nodded and laughed.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Scully chuckled as she entered the living room.

"Ehm… I, it… not on purpose…" Mulder mumbled looking down.

"He dropped his soda and now there's a stain on the carpet", Aidan filled in the blanks.

"Oh, let me help you with that", Scully said and got some cleaning supplies from under the sink in the kitchen. Within five minutes the stain was gone and the only indication of Mulder's accident was the wet spot on the carpet from the water Scully had used along with the slight smell of something chemical. "So…" Scully was chuckling. "Did you really think I would kill you for spilling a little soda?"

"Yeah", Mulder smiled that cute relieved smile Scully couldn't help but respond loving to.

"Aw, Mulder", she chuckled. "Come here."

She opened her arms for him as she stood on her knees on the floor. Mulder, who was still sitting on his butt next to the stain, pulled her into his own arms and squeezed her with a satisfied sigh.

Aidan just rolled his eyes. Mulder and Scully hadn't told him about the new aspect of their relationship yet but even he had noticed that Mulder was spending much more time at their place. Normally he would come to play with him a couple of times a week but this week alone he had been there almost every day – and he had started to hug Scully more often. Aidan had only seen them hug a few times before if they were saying hello or goodbye but now they were practically glued together. When they weren't hugging they were touching each other – nothing much, just casually touching a forearm or shoulder, but it was all the time. Aidan knew they were keeping something from him and it annoyed him. He was so use to having his mother to himself but now he felt like he was sharing her with Mulder. And it wasn't just during the day time he was there. Aidan had realized that Mulder must have slept at their place at least four times this week. Aidan became more and more frustrated as all of this confused him deeply. Mulder and Scully were still hugging on the floor. Mulder whispered something in her ear which caused her to giggle. He pulled her sideways down on his lap and she pushed his hair out of his face. They looked each other in the eyes the whole time.

"Why are you so weird?" Aidan finally let his frustration get the better of him.

"What do you mean?" Mulder chuckled but let slightly go of his strong hold on Scully.

"You hug all the time and you look at each other with that weird look on your faces. I don't understand it."

"Should we tell him?" Mulder asked Scully.

"I don't know. I guess it's better to just tell him if he feels confused."

"Yes, I agree", Mulder nodded.

Aidan had no idea what they were going to tell him but he knew it had to be important. As they got up from the floor and sat down in the couch he almost regretted having asked at all.

"Come here, Aidan", Scully smiled at him and patted the space on the couch between her and Mulder.

Aidan reluctantly sat down between them and looked at them hesitantly before Scully started talking again.

"Do you remember when you had a sleepover with Trent last weekend?" she asked and Aidan nodded yes. "Well… that same night Mulder came over and we had a good talk. We found out that we're in love with each other, do you know what that means?"

"But… Mulder said he didn't love you!" Aidan felt betrayed somehow. He changed his attention to Mulder; "You promised me, Mulder. You said you weren't going to marry my mom."

"I know, Aidan. I didn't think your mom was in love with me too at that time. I thought it was just me who was in love with her and that she didn't feel the same way. I just didn't want to upset you. But we're not getting married right now, Aidan. Maybe someday", Scully's heart skipped a beat at his words. "But not right now", he finished his sentence.

"Have you kissed?" Aidan's eyes widened.

"Yes", Mulder answered him.

"With your tongues?" he nearly whispered. "Like in the movies."

"Yes, Aidan, that's how people who're in love kiss", Scully explained.

"Ew, that's gross!" Aidan grimaced, making Mulder and Scully chuckle.

"Very gross", Mulder agreed and lifted Aidan into his lap. "So do you have any more questions for us, Aidan? Just know we love you just as much as we always have, okay?"

Aidan nodded and thought for a few seconds. "I have a question."

"Okay, honey, what is it?" Scully took his hand.

"When did you become in love?"

"It's called falling in love", Scully told him sweetly. "And it's not something that happens in a split second. First you have a crush on someone; it could be because they look cute or seems nice. And then when you get to know the person you can fall in love with each other. Mulder and I had something that's called chemistry right away. It means that you feel like you know the person already, and that you become friends very fast and it's easier to fall in love as well."

"Do you wrestle?"

"Wrestle?" Mulder didn't understand Aidan's question. Did he think they fought?

"Yes. When people on TV are in love they always wrestle in a bed under the covers."

Scully's cheeks reddened but Mulder got a big smile on his face.

"That's not wrestling Aidan", he chuckled.

"It's not? But it looks like wrestling and they're always all sweaty and exhausted afterwards."

"It's something adults do, Aidan. And when you get older we'll tell you about it, okay?" Mulder chuckled.

"But what is it?"

"It's called making love", Scully told him. "But Mulder is right, it's an adult thing."

"Is that what you do when Mulder sleep over?"

"Ehm, yeah. Sometimes."

Before Aidan could ask any more questions Scully looked at her watch and was thankful it was his bedtime. When she finally got him to sleep she realized she felt much better. It had been hard keeping her and Mulder's new relationship a secret but it had been even harder to not tell Aidan. It had felt like she was lying to him, but now a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"It feels right, doesn't it?" Mulder asked as she sat down next to him on the couch.

"What does?"

"That Aidan knows", he clarified.

"How did you know that's just what I was thinking?" she chuckled.

"Oh, haven't I told you?" he said seriously. "I can read minds."

"You can?" she played along.

"I sure can", he smiled and kissed her lips gently.

She smiled back at him, her eyes twinkling with mischief, as she moved while kissing him back until she was straddling him while he still sat upright in the couch.

"So what am I thinking right now?" she asked him and barely recognized her own voice – it was low and rough.

"You're thinking… that you wanna kiss me", he panted, out of breath from the kiss they had just shared.

She was just about to descend on his mouth again when he interrupted her; "But first, you wanna take off your clothes."

His voice was husky and demanding and Scully started throbbing, actually aching for him. His eyes were so dark with lust and she could clearly feel his erection pressing against her center.

She stood up, even though every fiber in her body begged of her to return to his warmth and love immediately, and she slowly began to undress. As she began slowly unbuttoning her white shirt his eyes were fixed on her. She saw how he grabbed the edge of the couch, his knuckles white, and realized he fought not to touch himself. She untugged the shirt from her pants and dropped it to the floor. Reaching behind her she unhooked her bra and let that drop to the floor as well. His eyes wandered over her body and he was breathing hard. She turned around so she stood with her back to him as she pushed her pants and panties down at once. Looking back over her shoulder she could see Mulder enjoyed the view. Even though she now stood in front of him completely naked in her living room in January she felt hotter than ever. His eyes were burning her skin with lust and love.

"Do I kiss you now?" she heard herself ask him, almost purring.

"Yes", he said quickly – taking her hands as she got settled on his lap once again.

She moaned as his tongue entered her mouth while his skilled hands moved up and down her back and sides. It felt strangely erotic to be completely naked while he was still fully dressed. Her hands found their way into his hair as they kept kissing.

"Scully", he breathed as they had to break apart for air.

"Yes?" they kept looking into each other's eyes, she knew he was still playing his mind reading game and she wanted to let him know she liked it as well. "What am I thinking now?"

He smiled as she confirmed she was enjoying this game of theirs as well. "That you wanna take my shirt off."

She deftly unbuttoned his shirt while she rocked her hips against his erection. Soon the shirt was completely undone and he helped her shrug it off of his arms so she could throw it to the floor along with her own clothes.

"Now…" Mulder was breathing rather hard due to her rocking hips. "You want to kiss me again… but a bit further… south, this time", he hoped she would get what he meant but he also hoped he wasn't pushing her too far.

As a smile spread across her face he knew that she got it. He also knew that she was glad he had asked her, turned on by it even.

"Like this?" she asked as she started to plant kisses down his neck.

"Mmmh, yeah", he said with a groan. "Just like that."

Scully kept kissing and sucking on his neck for a good while. His smell was stronger and more erotic there. The smell that belonged to Mulder alone, the one she had been intoxicated by the first time he had hugged her. And the soft, slightly stubbly, skin on his neck had the sweetest taste.

"Further down, Scully", he managed to tell her as he could feel himself getting closer with every touch of her lips and tongue.

She moved down his chest, flicking his nipples with her tongue on the way, which caused him to groan out loud.

"Further… down", he nearly begged of her now.

Soon she reached his stomach and as she planted a kiss just above his navel she remembered having done that before. Back when Charlie had walked in on them nearly kissing after they had fallen asleep together for Thanksgiving. Back then she had planted that kiss as a promise. A promise that she would be back one day. And now she was.

She opened his belt and the buttons in his black dress pants. She was on her knees in front of him now. He had fantasized about this scenario so many times he had trouble believing it was actually happening. He lifted his hips slightly so she could draw his pants and boxers down. As they were down by his ankles her hands ran back us his legs slowly, teasingly. He took a sharp intake of breath as she started to kiss her way up from his knees and up his thigh. As her hot mouth was moving up his one thigh her hand was moving up the other. The hand was faster than her mouth and soon she was stroking his hard member. He couldn't even think coherent by now let alone talk – he could hear himself though, groaning loudly, begging her to take him into her mouth. When she did though, he felt his balls tighten as they did when he was just about to come. Luckily Scully had noticed this as well and slowly she let him slip out of her mouth again. She ran her hands up and down his thighs in a calming manner, letting him get his breath before she put her mouth back on him.

"So good", he managed to utter as she began a slow pace, taking him as deep as she could while using her hands on the rest of his length.

Slowly she would increase the pace but when he got close to his release she slowed down again. It was driving him crazy but it was the sweetest torture he had ever heard about. Eventually it became harder not to come – his cock was practically as hard as stone and his heart was beating so fast, he was sure he would have a stroke if he didn't get his release soon. She looked up at him with her beautiful blue eyes. He ran a hand through her hair, careful not to press down on her head. "Please", he begged her and she granted his wish. Increasing her pace once again she massaged his balls with her free hand. It felt so heavenly; he had to lay his head back on the back of the couch as he pulsed in her mouth. He could hear his own voice echoing in the room but he had no idea what he was bellowing.

He had no idea how long it had been since he had come when he finally opened his eyes. Scully was cuddled into his side, his heart was beating fast still but on its way back to normal, his pants and boxers were still pooling around his ankles, and his cock was softening.

"That… that was amazing, Scully", he told her and kissed her on top of her head.

"I noticed you rather enjoyed it", she giggled. "Anyway, it was about time I returned the favor."

"Well, as good… no as fantastic as that was, it does have it disadvantages."

"What do you mean?" she looked up at him.

"I'm exhausted, Scully. And I haven't even paid any attention to you yet."

"Don't worry about that, Mulder", she smiled at him. "I know you won't believe this, but I enjoyed what just happened as well."

"Giving me a blowjob pleasured you?" he said with clear disbelieve.

"Pleasuring you pleasures me, Mulder. I like to make you happy."

"Well… just give me a few more minutes, Scully, and I'll do something for you in return. I want to!"

"No, Mulder", she smiled at him getting up from the couch, even though he tried to hold onto her. "Tonight was about pleasuring you. Let's go to bed and get a good night's sleep and then I'll let you pleasure me all you want in the morning."

She was smiling her mischievous smile at him and he couldn't help smile himself. If she was content with waiting 7 or 8 hours he could wait as well. "I love you", he told her.

"Good", she smiled even wider now. "'Cause I'm kinda fond of you as well."

"You sure know how to make a boy feel special", he said dryly, but his eyes revealed the love and joy he was really feeling.

Pulling his boxers on and stepping out of his pants he followed Scully to the bedroom. She had pulled on her own panties and shirt and was carrying the rest of their clothes in her arms. She dropped them into the hamper while Mulder threw himself into the bed. He couldn't remember ever being this run out before. He had absolutely no powers left in him, as he had used the last ones walking from the couch to the bed. As he skimmed the watch on the nightstand he knew why. Their session had lasted a little over an hour. No wonder he was so beat. He crept under the covers while Scully cuddled up to him.

"I know it's only 15 minutes past 10, Scully – you don't have to go to sleep now if you're not tired", Mulder said.

"It's been a long day for me too", she sighed. "I'm really tired as well, Mulder."

"Good, I like to fall asleep with you in my arms."

"I like to fall asleep in your arms", she said and pecked his lips before turning the lights off on his side of the bed.

Just as the room was completely dark and Mulder was seconds away from falling asleep there was a knock on the door followed by a small voice: "Mommy?"

Scully sat up in the bed and turned the light on her side of the bed back on as Aidan entered the bedroom. He looked a little perplexed at first as he saw both Mulder and his mom in the bed.

"What's wrong, honey?" Scully asked him.

"I heard someone scream and I couldn't fall asleep again", he let them know.

Mulder gave Scully an apologetic look as she realized what Aidan must have heard.

"Can I sleep in here?" he asked in the sweetest voice he could muster. That combined with his bed hair and teddy bear pajama Scully couldn't resist.

"Of course, sweetie. Come here", she patted the space next to her and Aidan walked to the bed and climbed in next to her.

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep now, Aidan?" Mulder asked him kindly, feeling slightly guilty for waking him.

"I think so", he said and lay down in the bed and cuddled up to his mom.

Scully reached over him and turned the light off once again while Mulder lay back down again. Even though it felt strange to lie next to Scully without holding her, he fell asleep within a minute due to his exhaustion.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_January 30'th 1993, 7.44 am_

It had been a strange night and Scully hadn't gotten much sleep due to the fact that Mulder and Aidan kept fighting over her. Not intentionally of course, but in their sleep. She had finally found rest as she let Aidan have her left arm to hold while Mulder had his arm draped over her stomach and his face buried in her shoulder. Aidan was the first one to awaken. His eyes began to flutter and a yawn escaped his lips as he gave her arm a little squeeze.

"Good morning, honey", Scully whispered to him and kissed his forehead.

"Morning, mommy", he smiled at her. "Is Mulder still sleeping?"

Looking to her side she saw his peaceful undisturbed face, and couldn't help but smile – he was so cute. "Yeah", she told Aidan. "Mulder's still sleeping."

"Why isn't he wearing any clothes?" Aidan wondered out loud as he saw his naked shoulder.

"He always sleeps in his underpants and nothing else", Scully told him.

"Why doesn't he wear a pajama like I do?"

"I don't know, Aidan", Scully chuckled slightly.

Apparently their voices must have stirred Mulder from his sleep because soon he was planting small kisses on Scully's shoulder and neck.

"Mulder!" she giggled.

"Mmh, good morning, Scully", he tightened his hold on her.

As he opened his eyes he saw Aidan sitting up in the bed looking strangely at him. "Oh, and good morning to you, Aidan."

"Morning", Aidan answered. "Mom, is it time to get up soon?"

"Yeah, I'll come make some breakfast in a couple of minutes."

"Good, I'm hungry", Aidan announced as he left the bedroom and went down the hall to the bathroom.

"Do you think he's okay with it?" Mulder mumbled against Scully's neck as he began to kiss her again.

"Mmh", she sighed in delight. "Okay with what?"

"Okay with us. Being together."

"Of course, Mulder. He loves you, you know that", she tried to focus as his kisses moved further up her neck and his hand found her breast under the shirt she was wearing.

"I know", he mumbled in between kisses. "But he's use to having our full attention. Now we pay a lot of attention to each other as well."

"Mulder…" she sighed as his hand had travelled down her stomach and into her panties. "You're making it awful hard for me to concentrate!"

"How's that?" he chuckled as he let two fingers slip into her.

"God!" she exclaimed in a moan. "Please… please, stop."

Mulder withdrew his fingers slowly, making her moan again. Letting his hand rest on top of her stomach he finally kissed her mouth. It was a hungry, passionate kiss, and she responded to it by putting her arms around his neck. When they had to break apart for air he smiled down at her.

"Good morning", he said again.

"I have to make breakfast for Aidan, Mulder", she said seriously. "And we should probably eat something as well. But after breakfast we can take a shower together, okay?"

"Or we could take a bath. We haven't taken a bath together yet even though you have that nice big bathtub."

"Alright", she could feel butterflies rise in her stomach – taking a bath with Mulder had been one of her most frequent fantasies about him before they got together. "It's a deal."

As Scully walked into the living room she found Aidan quietly watching TV. She had put on a pair of pajama pants so she wouldn't freeze but she was still wearing Mulder's white dress shirt. She sat down next to Aidan and combed a hand through his messy red hair.

"Are you okay, Aidan?"

He nodded and smiled at her. "Yes, mom."

"Good. What do you want for breakfast today?"

"Can I have anything I want?" he smiled wide.

"Yes, honey", she chuckled.

He thought for a few seconds before saying; "I want bacon!"

"Bacon? Okay, I'll make you some bacon. Do you want eggs and toast as well?"

"Okay", he shrugged. "And orange juice, please."

"It'll be ready in 15 minutes or so", she said as she walked to the kitchen.

"Thanks, mom", he shouted after her.

Five minutes later Mulder joined Aidan on the couch. He was wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He had spent the last minutes trying to make his erection go down. As he had finally succeeded, trying to remember the name of every American president throughout history, he sat down and watched cartoons with Aidan.

"So, what are you gonna do today, Aidan?" he asked him ruffling his hair.

"Nothing, I think", he shrugged.

"I was wondering about something, Aidan. Do you know how to swim?"

Aidan changed his focus from the screen to Mulder now. "No. Why?"

"I thought we could go to a public pool today. Then I could teach you, if you wanted."

"Yes", Aidan smiled broadly now.

"Alright, little guy. We can leave around noon, okay? We'll have to stop by my place as well to pick up my trunks."

"Is mom coming as well?" Aidan asked.

"Nah, it'll be a guy thing. We can even go out for big burgers afterwards – but don't tell your mom", Mulder added in a whisper.

"Okay", Aidan chuckled and gave Mulder his best smile.

"Is your mom making bacon?" Mulder asked as he got a whiff of the wonderful smell.

"Yeah, she let me decide what we're having for breakfast", he said proudly.

"Nice choice, little man", Mulder high-fived him, making Aidan laugh again. "I'll go help your mom set the table."

Scully could feel his eyes on her. She hadn't heard him coming into the kitchen. She had heard him talking to Aidan in the living room but she hadn't heard what they were talking about. As his arms snaked around her waist she leaned back into his embrace.

"Something smells good", he whispered beginning to kiss her neck.

"It's ready in a few minutes", she let him know, enjoying the feel of his strong arms surrounding her.

"Sounds good. I promised Aidan I'd take him to a public pool today. I'll teach him how to swim."

"That's a great idea, Mulder. We could go out for lunch afterwards."

"Actually, I told him it would just be the two of us. I think it's important we each take our time to do something fun with him. So he doesn't feel left out."

"You're right, Mulder. It's just…"

"What?" he turned her head with two fingers under her chin so he could look into her eyes. "What is it, Scully?"

"I'll miss you", she whispered.

"I'll miss you too", he said right before her lips caught his.

She turned in his arms and he deepened the kiss. His hands soon dropped to her butt while her hands were entangled in his hair. As Mulder heard Aidan enter the kitchen he pulled out of the kiss.

While Scully finished with the last of the breakfast, Mulder set the table like he had said he would. Soon they were eating around the little table in the kitchen. Mulder and Aidan ate all the bacon while Scully had an apple instead. As they were done Mulder and Scully cleaned up in the kitchen while Aidan went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When the kitchen was back to its usual clean, well-organized self, Mulder and Scully went to the bathroom.

"I need to wash my hair first", she told him as she began to undress by stepping out of her pajama pants.

"Okay", Mulder smiled and sat down on the edge of the bathtub to enjoy the show.

"Mulder", she giggled. "Could you go tell Aidan we're taking a bath while I wash my hair?"

"Oh, alright", he sighed.

Aidan was changing as he walked into his room. He was wearing a pair of jeans and in the midst of pulling a red t-shirt with a picture of an Indian chief over his head as Mulder entered.

"Wow, cool t-shirt, Aidan", Mulder told him, gaining a wide grin from the boy.

"Uncle Bill and Aunt Tara gave it to me for Christmas."

"That's nice", Mulder smiled. "Your mom and I are gonna take a bath. Will you be alright by yourself for a little while?"

"Taking a bath together?" he tilted his head and frowned.

"Yeah… it'll save water", Mulder chuckled.

"Oh… okay", Aidan sat down on his bed and began to look at pictures in a Wild West book which was another Christmas present, as far as Mulder recalled.

"We won't lock the door but remember to knock and wait for us to answer if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay", Aidan nodded, studying the pictures in his book with interest and wonder.

When Mulder returned to the bathroom Scully was adding some bath salts into the tub as it was filling with water. She was completely naked and her hair was wet while drops of water were running down her back to her butt. Mulder pulled his t-shirt off and tossed it to the floor before stepping out of his sweatpants and boxers. As Scully looked over her shoulder and saw him standing there naked as well her eyes dropped to his cock, which was hardening under her gaze.

"C'mere", she breathed as she stood up.

He stepped willingly into her arms and captured her lips with his. Their kiss was gentle and slow. He pulled her closer to him continuing to kiss her lips sweetly. Soon she was pushing him away, making him look down at her questioning. As he saw the tub was half full he understood. It was time for their bath.

"So, do you want me to get in first?" he asked her caressing her arms.

"I think that'll be the easiest way to do this", she smiled back at him.

"Yeah", he agreed nodding before slowly sitting down in the tub. The water was nice and warm and filled with bubbles. He spread his legs and held his hands up to help her sit down in front of him with her back to his chest.

"Alright?" he wanted to make sure as she was finally settled in front of him.

"Oh yeah", she sighed and leaned back into his embrace. "This is even better than I imagined it would be."

"How's it better?"

"Well… it's real. As nice as a fantasy can be, it rarely comes close to the real thing."

"Fantasy, huh? You've fantasized about this?" he asked as he began to lather her arms.

"Yeah", she chuckled. "Before I knew how you felt about me."

"Hm", he contemplated that as he kept working on her arms, gently and calming. "So… have you ever touched yourself while thinking about me?"

She was quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Yes", her voice came low.

She could feel his cock twitch by her back at that which caused a smile to play on her lips.

"I've thought a lot about you too, Scully. Ever since we met. Practically every morning in the shower you've been with me in my thoughts."

His words and his husky voice made Scully groan slightly. His hands moved from her arms to her shoulders, then down her back to her stomach, and finally on her breasts. She leaned her head back to rest on his chest. Her breathing quickened as his talented hands teased her nipples.

"I've been thinking about something, Scully."

God, his voice was sexy. "Mmh?" she managed to utter.

"It's Valentine's Day soon and apparently it's a Saturday this year. We could talk to your parents about taking Aidan that weekend. We could make love all day. And then I'd take you out to a fancy French place for dinner. Of course we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off each other", he emphasized this by squeezing her breasts, gaining a sweet little moan. "We could go dancing. Or maybe we'd just take a cab home because we can't wait to fuck each other. We'll tease each other all the way back in the cab. You'll send me that 'fuck me'-look you get when you're really turned on. My hands would probably slip up your dress. As soon as we're home I'd have my way with you up against the door." A whimper escaped Scully again. "Would you like that, Scully?"

"Mmh, yeah", she moaned. "Mulder, please…"

His hand slipped down through her curls and two fingers penetrated her. She moaned deeply at the new sensation. "Yes, Mulder", she urged him to keep thrusting his fingers into her. When his thumb pressed down on her clit while his fingers were deep inside of her she couldn't hold it back any longer and she came hard throwing her head back while arching her back.

When her breath started to become more regular again Mulder extracted his fingers and put his arms around her waist as he kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry, Scully. I wanted to make it last like you did with me last night."

"Don't be sorry, Mulder", she chuckled leaning further back in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his. "I enjoyed it very much."

"Yeah, you came pretty hard", he said proudly – she could feel him smirk into her hair.

"What you said about Valentine's Day…"

"I was serious, Scully. Would you be alright with letting your parents take Aidan for a few days?"

"Sure. They'll probably be happy to spend some time with him. But… you know this means I'll have to tell my parents about us?"

"I know", he spoke gingerly. "Are you not ready for that yet? It's alright if you're not, I just thought…"

"No, Mulder – I'm ready to tell them. I just weren't sure you had thought it through. Maybe we could invite them over for dinner tonight and tell them then."

"That sounds good, Scully. Aidan and I can just leave for the public pool a little earlier than I'd planned. We'll probably be home by 3."

"Great, I'll call my parents and go to the shop while you're gone."

They were quiet for a while, just enjoying the feel of each other in the water.

"Scully…"

"Yeah?"

"The water's getting cold."

"I know", she sighed. "We should probably get up."

Scully got out of the tub first and began drying her body with a towel. Mulder let the water run out of the tub and got out as well.

"Mulder!" Scully exclaimed.

"Hm?" he looked at her in surprise, and then followed her gaze down to his very hard cock. "Oh… don't worry about me, Scully."

"What if I want to worry about you, Mulder?" she asked him, and oh God, she was giving him her 'fuck me'-look.

She let her towel drop to the floor, he picked her up, his hands on the back of her thighs, and he slammed her against the wall next to the sink. She locked her legs around his waist, he kissed her neck, and he entered her.

They moaned in unison as he was now inside of her. As her hands were around his neck she pulled at his hair slightly to make him stop kissing her neck. She demanded his lips with hers, and as their tongues wrestled, he started to thrust into her. He could feel her moan deeply into their kiss and felt his balls tighten. God, he was so close already. With one hand holding her up, he let his other hand find her breast. As he started to massage it and rub his thumb against her hard nipple she stopped responding to his kiss. She merely had her mouth open as he sucked on her lower lip. As she went rigid and he felt her muscles clench around him he felt his own climax overtake him as well. As he pulsed in her, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, biting her shoulder lightly.

They were breathing hard, still standing with him inside of her against the bathroom wall. "God that was amazing", he panted.

"Yeah", she agreed. "It was."

He pulled out of her and let her slide down his body until her feet were safely planted on the floor. He bent down to give her a last sweet kiss, before he picked up her towel and wrapped it around her.

He took a towel for himself and tied it around his waist before walking to the bedroom where he had his clothes in an overnight bag.

Scully watched him as he walked out the door. The muscles rippled in his back from the exercise he had just had and his back was partially wet since he hadn't dried himself since their bath. He looked really good, she thought. When he disappeared down the hall to her bedroom, she dried herself with her towel, as Mulder had made her wet again… pun intended. When she was dry again she pulled her robe on and started picking up their clothes from all around the bathroom floor. She put it into the hamper and went to the bedroom where Mulder was pulling on a pair of black jeans.

"Scully, does Aidan have any swim trunks?" he asked her as she picked out some underwear in her drawer.

"He had some when he was younger but I think they're too small now."

"Oh okay. I'll buy him some on our way there then."

Deciding to wear matching black lace panties and bra she pulled the panties on under her robe. Then she shred the robe and put her bra on. Walking to her closet she picked out a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a light yellow cardigan. As she turned around to find Mulder in a bright blue Oxford University sweatshirt and a smirk on his face she asked him: "What?"

"I'm sorry, Scully", he was grinning. "I think I left a mark on your neck."

She walked to her mirror and saw the love bite right above her gold necklace. "Thank you, Mulder", she sighed and started to cover it up with some foundation. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry", he told her sweetly. "And I'm sorry if my bite left a mark as well – at least no one will be able to see that one."

"Your bite? You bit me?" she asked in surprise.

Mulder pulled her cardigan and t-shirt down her shoulder for her to see the blue and red bite mark.

"God, I really am sorry, Scully. I had no idea it was this bad."

She touched it testing if it hurt. It didn't hurt much though. "It's okay, Mulder. I didn't even notice it was there. When did you bite me?"

"Well, you were kinda busy yourself at the time", the smirk was back on his face.

"Oh, I see", Scully rolled her eyes at him.

"It was a nice bath, Scully", he said kissing her cheek.

"I enjoyed it too", she told him and kissed his lips gently. "Thank you, Mulder."

"I'll go see what Aidan's up to. I know it's only 9.30 but if we're staying at the pool for a few hours we should probably get going."

"Okay", Scully smiled and kissed him one more time before he went into Aidan's room.

Ten minutes later they were on their way. She loved Mulder for taking Aidan swimming but she would them both terribly, even though it was only for a few hours.

As she had kissed both of them goodbye she called her mother. They didn't have any plans tonight so they would be happy to join them for dinner. After looking through a few of her cookbooks for inspiration Scully decided on making a whole baked salmon. She made a list of what she would need and drove off to the grocery store. As she checked the watch in the car she saw it was only 10. It would be five hours until Mulder and Aidan were home. She missed them already. But she would just busy herself with the laundry and she might even do some cleaning before they got home. She wondered if Mulder would stay for the night again. She hoped he would even though they both had work tomorrow. He had slept there all week. Of course he'd been to work and he'd gone home after work as well. But he'd stopped by every night for dinner, sometimes even later, with an overnight bag. Some mornings he had left before Aidan got up but mostly he had had breakfast with them as well. She wondered if he would keep being there every day in a month when their relationship wasn't new anymore. She hoped he would and she had a feeling he wanted to as well.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_January 30'th 1993, 6.49 pm_

Mulder and Aidan had had a terrific guy's day out. Aidan had learnt how to swim, it had been surprisingly easy to teach him, and after spending a couple of hours at the public pool they had gone out for burgers. They had been home around 3 and Scully had hugged Mulder instantly as she saw he was caring his overnight bag.

She had invited her parents over for dinner at 7 but there was a knock on the door already. It was obvious that Cpt. and Mrs. Scully hadn't expected Mulder to open the door but they weren't too surprised either.

"Well, hello Mulder", Cpt. Scully shook his hand.

"Hello Fox", Mrs. Scully opted for a hug.

"Dana and Aidan are in the kitchen", he let them know with a smile.

"Thank you", Mrs. Mulder smiled back, and they all walked to the kitchen where Scully was chopping some vegetables while Aidan was drawing by the island.

"Hi mom, hi dad", she greeted them never looking away from her food.

"Hello, honey", Mrs. Scully said and walked to the fridge. "I brought a blueberry pie for desert; I'll put it in here, okay?"

"Alright. That sounds great, mom", she smiled. "Dinner is ready in a few minutes."

"Perfect", Cpt. Scully said. "It smells wonderful, Dana."

As Aidan showed his grandparents what he was drawing Mulder set the table in the living room. He was starting to get really nervous. Of course he knew Scully's parents already liked but he wasn't sure he was the type of guy they had pictured for their daughter.

As they sat down and began eating Aidan told them how Mulder had taught him how to swim earlier.

"I think it's important the little guy knows how to swim", Mulder said smiling at Aidan.

"I couldn't agree more", Cpt. Scully nodded. "Did he do well?"

"He's a natural born swimmer. In a few years he'll be faster than me."

"Really?" Aidan's smile was wide.

"Really", Mulder winked at him.

The food was so good Mulder practically vacuumed the plate. As he had finished his first portion and everyone else weren't even half way through theirs he decided to wait for a little while before taking some more.

"Are you done already?" Scully asked him in amazement, as she knew he usually took two or three times.

"Nah of course not", he smiled. "I'm just waiting a few seconds. The fish is delicious."

"Thank you", she smiled back before returning to her food.

"It really is, Dana. What have you done with it?" Mrs. Scully wanted to know.

While Scully talked to her mom and tried to remember her recipe she felt Mulder's hand on her thigh. As she gave him a sideways glance she saw he was just looking at her, observing. She wasn't sure he was aware of his hand on her thigh but it felt nice even though it was a bit disturbing.

As Scully was done reciting her recipe Aidan began a new, slightly different, conversation.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you told grandma and grandpa that you're in love with Mulder?" he asked innocently, making Mulder sit up straight in his chair.

"No, Aidan. I haven't", she chuckled.

"Dana?" Mrs. Scully was smiling.

"Mom and dad, Mulder and I are together as a couple now", she told them, taking Mulder's hand. She noticed he was sweating slightly – he was nervous, she found that really cute for some reason.

"Finally", Cpt. Scully chuckled. "We thought you'd never tell us. You owe me 20 bucks, Maggie."

"What?" Scully was confused now.

"Well… your mother and I kinda made a bet. I said you'd tell us before January ended. Your mom had down February."

"Mom and dad!" Scully couldn't believe it.

Mrs. Scully decided not to pay any attention to her daughter's objections. "So how long have you been together?"

"Why? Have you made a bet about that as well?" Scully was only joking but when her parents sent each other a guilty look she realized she had hit home. "Oh my God! I can't believe you did that. Out of curiosity; how long do you have money on?"

"Well… Charlie thinks October…"

"But we met in October. Charlie's in on this as well?"

"My bet is November", Cpt. Scully said. "And Maggie has December."

"At least none of you won that one", Scully chuckled, as offended as she was that they had made bets about her love life, she was able to see the humor in it.

"What do you mean; none of us win? One of us has to be right!" Mrs. Scully said frowning.

"We've only been together for a week", Mulder let them know.

"Are you serious?" Mrs. Scully laughed. "I was sure you would have realized how you felt about each other after kissing under the mistletoe."

"We're pretty sure, mom", Scully chuckled.

"So… you're okay with it?" Mulder had to ask.

"Of course, Fox", Mrs. Scully smiled broadly.

"I'll admit it; you're not the kind of person I'd pictured Dana would end up with", Mulder gulped at the captain's words. "But I've seen how much you care for her and for Aidan, and I don't think she could find a better man."

"Thank you, sir", Mulder said with a lump in his throat.

"See; you have nothing to worry about", Scully smiled at him, caressing his cheek. "Now eat some more before it gets cold."

"Yes, dear", he said meekly making everyone laugh.

As they had finished dinner and desert, Mrs. Scully and Scully were cleaning up while Cpt. Scully had asked Mulder if he could have a word with him. They sat back down at the dinner table, and Mulder's palms started sweating again.

"I know I said Dana couldn't find a better man", he started.

"Yeah?"

"And I meant it. You're a good man, Mulder."

"Thank you, sir."

"Please don't interrupt me, kid, okay?" suddenly the captain in him was evident.

Mulder just nodded to let him know he wouldn't interrupt him again.

"I just want you to know that even though you're good to Dana and Aidan and even though you've been a big help, your job isn't done. It's not enough to be good to them, they have to be the two most important persons in your life and you have to make sure they know that too. I know it's not cool to date a single mom and I know that you, in reality, don't have any responsibilities to them. But you do now. You're in their lives and you have to prove that you're worthy of them. And if you hurt them in any way… you won't get a second chance, Mulder. You don't get to hurt them, okay?" he made a gesture that said it was alright for Mulder to speak now.

"I would rather die than hurt your daughter or grandson, sir", he said seriously – and he was serious.

"Good", Cpt. Scully nodded. "Now let's go see what the ladies are up to."

And with that the awkwardness was gone and the joy and laughter was back. Mulder was glad they had had this conversation. Now Cpt. Scully knew how serious he was. He needed him to know that.

"Did you have a talk?" Mrs. Scully asked them as they entered the kitchen where the two women were cleaning the pots.

"Yep", Cpt. Scully nodded and gave Mulder's shoulder an approving squeeze.

"Wow, you made it through the talk", Scully chuckled. "That scared away all the boys I ever dated in high school. At least the ones dad knew about."

"_All_ the boys?" Mulder and Cpt. Scully said in unison.

"Don't worry", Scully said as she dried her hands in a towel. "None of them even begin to compare to you."

"Really?" Mulder was smirking again.

"Really", she confirmed.

As they were done cleaning up in the kitchen they sat down in the living room for a cup of coffee. Aidan came running from his room in his pajama holding a book in his hand.

"Mom, mom, I've brushed my teeth and I'm in my pajama. Can grandpa read me a story?"

"Of course", Scully smiled. "But come here and say goodnight to your mom first."

Running over to Scully he put his arms around her neck and kissed her cheek. "Night, mommy."

Then he went to his grandma. "Night, grandma."

And finally he jumped into Mulder's lap. "Night, Mulder."

"Goodnight, Aidan", Mulder gave the boy a squeeze and kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight, little man."

When Cpt. Scully had read Aidan a story and got him to sleep, they announced they should be going.

As soon as they were out the door Mulder and Scully looked at each other and kissed. As Scully got ready for bed, Mulder locked the door and turned all the light in the apartment off. He checked on Aidan, who was sleeping sound. And then he walked to Scully and made love to her. Afterwards they fell asleep in each other's arms. Happy. Content. In love.

XxXxX

_Sacramento, California _

_February 12'th 1993_

Mulder couldn't believe it. The one year he had plans for Valentine's Day he had a case. When he didn't have plans, the universe had no problem letting him sit alone in his apartment feeling shitty. But this year, now that he was with Scully, the most incredible woman in the entire universe, of course there had to be a psychic man claiming to know something about a case involving a married couple who had been taken in the same way as four other couples had been taken every year a couple of days before Valentine's Day for four years. If he solved the case tomorrow he could be home in time for his day of lovemaking with Scully but so far the chances of that happening were slim. They were nowhere near determining whether or not this claimed psychic was the real thing, and chances were they wouldn't know until it was too late. He hated that he needed to make this phone call.

"_Mulder? Is it you?_" she sounded hopeful.

"Yeah it's me", he smiled into the phone; it was nice to hear her voice.

"_Where are you? I haven't heard from you since this morning. I was starting to get nervous._"

"I'm sorry, Scully. I should have called earlier. I guess I've just been postponing it. I have some bad news…"

"_What is it, Mulder?_"

"Something's come up. I've been called away on a case in Sacramento."

"_Sacramento, California?_"

"Yep, that's the one", he sighed. "I probably won't be home until Sunday. I'm so sorry, Scully."

She was quiet for a moment before answering. "_It's alright, Mulder. I understand_", she sounded so disappointed; he just wanted to get home and hug her. "I know you were looking forward to our date, Scully. I was too." There was silence for a few seconds.

"_I miss you_", she stated.

"I miss you too, Scully. You know I love you more than anything, right? You know I'd get on the first plane home if it was up to me?"

"_I know_", she sounded a bit more cheery now; apparently it was nice to be reminded. "_I love you too, Mulder._"

As Scully hung up the phone she couldn't deny it; she was disappointed. Not in Mulder; she knew he'd do anything to be with her. Just disappointed that she would have to spend another Valentine's Day alone. She knew it was only a day. She had told herself that every Valentine's Day for the past seven years. But the idea of spending that day with Mulder had seemed right. Because even though it was just another day, it's a day you should spend with the one you love.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review. And congratulations if you read this entire chapter. <strong>


	9. Home

**Thank you so much for still reading and reviewing this story. I'm glad you're enjoying it. **

**And a special thanks to my Beta Reader: matash21. You rock, beta-buddy. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 9 – Home<p>

_Scully's Apartment _

_February 14'th 1993, 8.11 am_

"Mommy! Mommy!" Scully was awakened by her son's eager voice that Saturday morning.

"I made something", he told her proudly and gave her his biggest toothless grin.

As Scully opened her eyes and stretched her petite body she saw the letter Aidan was holding in his little hand. It was red and it was addressed 'To mom'.

"What have you got there, Aidan?" she asked him as she sat up in the bed and pulled the boy up to sit next to her.

"It's for you." He said again and handed the letter to Scully.

"What a nice envelope! Thank you, Aidan." She said and kissed him in the hair.

"No, mom!" Aidan chuckled. "There's something inside!"

"There is?" Scully mocked surprise. "Let's have a look inside then."

As Scully opened the envelope she saw a piece of paper decorated with hearts and glitter, on it read 'Happy Valentine's Day' in a silver font that belonged to Aidan. On the other side of the paper it read: "_Dear mom. I love you with all of my heart forever. Love Aidan."_

"What's wrong, mom? Why are you crying?" Aidan crawled onto her lap and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"Thank you, Aidan." She chuckled and then held her son in close for a loving hug.

"Are you sad?" he asked her, his voice muffled by his mother's shoulder.

"No, Aidan. I'm crying because I'm happy. They're called tears of joy."

"Did you really like it that much?" His smile was wide.

"I love it, Aidan!" She told him and stroked his hair back from his face. "Did you make it all on your own?"

"Yes!" He nodded vigorously. "I made it that night Mulder and me were alone."

"_Mulder and I_, hon." She corrected him and gave his nose a small kiss.

Scully had had a late meeting Tuesday night and Mulder had watched Aidan in the meantime. When Scully finally arrived home, both Aidan and Mulder were asleep. She'd got undressed and climbed into bed next to Mulder's sleeping form. Just as she had been about to drift into sleep she had felt him move behind her. A shiver still ran through her when she remembered his hands caressing her hip and his lips manipulating her neck. "I've missed you." She remembered he'd said. His voice had been rough and husky and no more than a whisper, but in spite of how tired Scully had been just a few minutes earlier her body had responded to Mulder immediately. They'd made love tenderly that night and Mulder had told her he couldn't wait till Valentine's Day when they got to spend the whole day together in bed. They wouldn't get to do that now; at least not on Valentine's Day in '93. Scully had been so disappointed when he'd told her he was away on a case. They'd had plans! However; she soon realized that it wouldn't help her situation to get mad at Mulder. He was just as disappointed as she was by the outcome of the day. They'd simply have to enjoy each other on another day and Scully was sure it wouldn't be any less perfect if the calendar didn't read 'February 14'.

"Mulder helped me spell forever." Aidan told her. "But I decided what to write all on my own."

"It's a very beautiful card, Aidan." She kissed him again, this time on the cheek. "Thank you, honey."

"When is Mulder coming?"

"He's working on a case in California, Aidan. Remember, I told you two days ago?" Scully answered as she got out of bed and started rummaging around in her dresser to find something to wear.

"But I thought he was coming home for Valentine's Day. Aren't he supposed to give you flowers and chocolate?" Aidan sounded absolutely confused.

"Honey." Scully chuckled as she pulled a pair of dark blue jeans out and put them on top of the dresser as she began to search for a jumper to wear. "Mulder doesn't have to do those things for me. I already know he loves me. And if he didn't have to work he would have been here, but I understand. He wants to be with me, but he has to work."

"But he's your boyfriend. Why can't he skip work and come home?"

"You know Mulder's an FBI agent, Aidan. He has to catch criminals before they commit more crimes."

"So if he comes home somebody could die?" Aidan wanted to make sure the case was serious; otherwise he would have to have a talk with Mulder about how to treat your girlfriend on Valentine's Day.

"Well, I'm not really sure what kind of criminal he's chasing, Aidan." Scully said as she pulled her jeans on and discarded the pajama top she'd slept in.

Aidan sat on the bed contemplating whether Mulder was doing right by his mother whilst Scully finished dressing. He was still thinking when Scully was finally dressed in jeans and a white turtleneck. She came to sit next to him at the end of the bed.

"What are you thinking about, hon?" she asked him as she laid her arm around his shoulder.

"Can I call Mulder? I need to ask him something."

"There's a time difference between California and DC, Aidan. It's still night there."

"Oh. Do you think he'll call later?"

"I'm sure he'll call as soon as possible." She smiled at Aidan.

"Okay." Aidan seemed pleased for now. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm hungry."

"Me too, Aidan. Let's go get some breakfast." They got up and walked out of the bedroom. "I could make little heart shaped pancakes since it is Valentine's Day."Scully offered with a grin.

"Mom!" Aidan gave her an unimpressed look. "Do they have to be heart shaped?"

Scully couldn't help but laugh at the 'are-you-serious-right-now?' look Aidan was giving her.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment _

_February 15'th 1993, 00.03 am_

The shrill of the phone next to her on the nightstand awoke Scully. She discarded herself of her reading glasses and the book she'd been reading when she fell asleep as she reached out and answered the phone.

"Mulder?" she'd been waiting for his call all day and had been slightly worried that he hadn't called as promised.

"_Scully?_" she recognized his voice immediately and sighed with relief.

"Yes it's me." She chuckled as she realized her voice had been wobbly.

"_I'm sorry I didn't even call you on Valentine's Day, Scully. For what it's worth it's still the 14__th__ where I'm calling from._"

"It's alright, Mulder. I don't care. I got your flowers by the way, they're really pretty. Thank you."

"_Well, it's a small substitute for a day full of lovemaking!_" His voice became low and this sent a shiver down Scully's spine.

"When are you coming home?" She suddenly missed him even more. She knew she sounded desperate but at this point she couldn't care less.

"_I'm waiting for my plane right now, it leaves in 10 minutes. So we can see each other tomorrow and…_"

"No, I can't wait till tomorrow. You have to come straight over instead of going home first." Scully didn't leave much room for objections.

"_In the middle of the night? But you'll be asleep anyway, Scully. What if I wake you? Or what if I wake Aidan?" _

"You'll have to be quiet not to wake Aidan, of course. But I quite expect you to wake me, Mulder!" Sometimes she had to be very precise for Mulder to catch on, a thing she hadn't counted on before entering a sexual relationship with him due to his one way track of mind.

"_Oh that's not fair!"_ He whimpered.

"Well if you don't want to make love to me, I guess I'll just have to take care of myself!" She could hear his sharp intake of breath and knew she had succeeded in teasing him beyond reason. She had got herself wound up as a result though, and was sure the next 4-6 hours would contain little sleep for her.

"_Oh God, Scully!_" He said under his breath. _"Of course I want to make love to you as soon as possible. I meant it wasn't fair for you to get me hard when I have to spend 4 and a half hour on a plane!_"

"Mulder, did you just say that out loud at the airport?" she chuckled.

"_Relax, Scully, I'm sitting alone in a corner waiting to be let onto the plane. Nobody can hear me._"

"That's a small comfort."

"_So… what are you wearing?" _

"Mulder!" She couldn't help laugh out loud.

"_I am being serious, Scully. And I'm waiting for an answer._"

"Actually I fell asleep reading earlier and I hadn't gotten around to putting a pajamas on."

"_So just your normal clothes, then?_" He sounded slightly disappointed.

"Well, I'd just taken a bath so I'm only in my robe."

"_Oh sweet Jesus, you're naked and in bed._"

"Pretty much." She chuckled.

"_Finally! They're letting us on the plane now, Scully._"

"Okay. I love you, Mulder. Bye."

"_Oh, could you just do me a little favor, Scully?_"

"Sure, Mulder. Whatever you want." She knew he went nuts when she told him she'd do whatever he wanted but she couldn't resist.

"_Could you sleep naked for me?_"

"Yeah, I can do that." She nearly purred at him.

"_Great_", he sighed. "_And I love you too, Scully._"

She smiled as she hung up the phone. She ran to the bathroom to comb her hair. It was still wrapped in a towel from having washed it after she had taken her bath. She blow dried it as well but didn't bother to straighten it. Anyway, Mulder loved it when her hair was curly. She put on a bit of her favorite perfume as well - the one that smelled like coconuts.

Before returning to bed she went in to check on Aidan. He was sound asleep. She kissed him on the forehead and went back to bed. Hanging her bathrobe on a coat hook on the door to her bedroom she crawled naked into bed. Usually she slept in a pajamas if she slept alone otherwise she'd freeze. Even with Mulder in the bed she'd have to at least wear a nightgown or a t-shirt. But tonight she felt warm; her conversation with Mulder had made her whole body tingle. She couldn't wait till he came home.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment _

_February 15'th 1993, 5.50 am_

Mulder had been able to sleep on the plane. He'd feared that Scully's teasing would have kept him up, in more sense than one, but the sleep deprivation he'd suffered due to the case had gotten the better of him. He was finally home now.

He'd been as quiet as possible as he let himself into Scully's apartment. He went straight to her bedroom, put his suitcase down, and discarded himself as quiet as possible of all his clothes. As he'd stepped out of his boxers he walked to the bed. She was so beautiful: lying on her back with one arm over her head and the other somewhere under the covers. Carefully he pulled the covers off of her naked form. Her chest rose in time with her breathing and the sight was mesmerizing. His gaze wandered across her body: to her hand which was resting upon on her stomach, to her red curls inviting him to finally wake her.

He cautiously climbed onto the bed from the foot end. As he was on his knees between her legs with one hand on either side of hips he dipped his head to place a small kiss just below her belly button. She stirred slightly but didn't wake. He carefully spread her legs further apart, and she complied in her sleep. As he entered her with his tongue he was surprised at how wet she already was. She wasn't wet enough for intercourse but very close. As he thrust his tongue in and out of her she started moaning. He could feel that she was still sleeping so he continued. He drew his tongue from her entrance to her clit and started circling it with tongue, occasionally flicking it.

"Mmmh…" He heard her moan and felt her buck her hips into his face.

Then he felt her whole body tense, and he knew it: she had awakened. She let out a cross between a surprised scream and a very pleased moan. He lifted his head slightly but kept his mouth on her and he caught her eyes with his. He saw fright at first but as she realized what was happening it got replaced with excitement and desire. As he sucked her clit into his mouth and flicked it again and again with his tongue she threw her head backwards against the pillow.

"Oh God, YES! Mmmuldeerrr, yes!" she exclaimed breathing heavily.

As soon as he thrust two fingers into her, he could feel her clenching around him. Continuing his work with his tongue he buried his fingers as deep inside of her as possible as she reached nirvana.

When she came down from her high, Mulder was resting his head on her stomach. She combed a hand through his hair and tried pulling at his shoulders. He understood what she wanted him to do and he obliged.

"Hey." He whispered to her as he was leaning over her, holding himself up on his elbows.

"Hi." She whispered back with the biggest grin on her face.

She reached up and claimed his lips with her own. She opened her mouth to him and they started kissing passionately. He shifted a little and Scully clearly felt his erection against her inner thigh.

"God, you're hard!" She mumbled into the kiss, arching her back involuntarily at the sensation of his arousal.

This caused her breasts to push into his chest, and he felt her hardened nipples against his bare skin. This new sensation made his cock twitch and ache to be inside of her.

"Mulder, I'm ready." She told him, assuming he held off because he was afraid she needed more time to recuperate.

"Mmh…" He simply grunted at her words and closed his hand around her breast.

"Mulder, please!" She begged him as he tweaked her nipple between his fingers.

"Please what?" he breathed into her ear as he began assaulting her other breast.

When she merely moaned and tried to adjust her hips so he'd enter her, he moved his head down her body to her breast and began kissing and sucking one breast while massaging the other with his hand.

"Oh God, Mulder!" She squirmed beneath him. "Please…"

"Please what, Scully? What do you want me to do?" He whispered roughly, his hot breath teasing her nipple even further.

"Please fuck me, Mulder! Fuck me so hard I can't even think straight!"

Earning a groan from Mulder she though he was finally gonna enter her. Oh, how she needed him inside of her. But instead he got up on his knees. She was confused now, and missed the feel of his body on top of hers.

"Mulder, what…"

"Get on your knees, Scully!" He ordered her and she felt a gush of wetness run down her thigh.

Nobody had ever asked her to do this for them but she didn't even hesitate at his request. She scrambled on to her knees and as she felt his hands grab her hips she groaned wildly. Slowly he guided himself into her with one knee on either side of her knees. She could hear his labored breathing as he entered her and she was shocked at how big he felt inside of her this way. She wanted to tell him.

"Mulder… even bigger… ah!" was all she managed.

"Fuck, Scully, so tight!" He groaned, seemingly having trouble stringing a sentence together as well.

He had entered her completely now and she couldn't understand why he wasn't moving. She pushed back against him instead but he grabbed her hips and stilled her actions.

"Don't. I'm really close, Scully!" He explained.

After a few more seconds he began moving slowly in and out of her. It felt fantastic but Scully needed more. His hands were moving over her back now so she could move freely again, and she did. She met his thrusts and as they had established a rhythm she set the speed up.

"No, Scully!", he panted. "Want you to come."

"Close… already…" she breathed out between moans. "Please, Mulder! Harder!"

He groaned at her request and pushed hard into her. She fell to her elbows and the next time he pushed into her he hit it just right.

"Yes, yes, YES!" she cried out as he repeatedly thrust in and out of her, faster and harder for every thrust.

"Feel… good?" he managed to ask panting.

"Yes, Mulder! Don't… stop… just right…"

"Oh, Scully, I'm gonna-AHHH!" he groaned as he pulsed inside of her.

His orgasm triggered her own as his final thrust was all she needed. Everything became white and she wasn't sure whether it was her or Mulder who was screaming – maybe it was both of them. She had never known pleasure like this before.

As they were both done shaking Mulder pulled Scully to lay down with her. He spooned up behind her but realized how cold the air was and pulled the covers over them before lying down with her again.

"I love you", he told her as he cupped her breast and sighed, spent from a hard week's work and the incredible sex he'd just had.

He realized Scully was already sleeping. His ego loved that their lovemaking made Scully so tired. Within a few seconds he'd joined her and was finally able to sleep in the arms of his love again.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment _

_February 15'th 1993, 8.21 am_

There was a small knock on the door followed by a: "Mommy?"

Mulder began sitting up but Scully stopped him and pushed him back down on the bed. It didn't take much force, the man was really run down.

There was another knock.

"Hang on, Aidan, I'll be right out", Scully said gently not to startle Mulder too much.

She got her bathrobe on and opened the door. Aidan tried to peek into the bedroom but Scully closed the door behind her.

"Is Mulder in there?" he asked her.

"Yes." Scully smiled and grabbed Aidan's hand and walked him to the kitchen.

Scully brought over some coffee and began pouring Aidan a bowl of cereal.

"When did he come home?" He asked his mother as she put the breakfast down in front of him.

"Very early this morning. I think it was 6 o'clock."

"Isn't he coming out to eat with us?"

"Not right now, Aidan. Actually we have to be really quiet today, because Mulder is very tired." Scully explained as she made herself some toast.

"Okay!" Aidan nodded as he brought a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Soon after, Scully sat down opposite Aidan with a cup of coffee and two pieces of toast.

"Does Mulder live here now?" Aidan asked her as she was biting into the peanut butter covered piece of toast.

Scully's eyes widened slightly in surprise and as she chewed she considered how to respond to that.

"No, Aidan. Mulder lives in his own apartment. He just visits us a lot because he loves us a lot."

"Do you think he'd rather live here?"

"I don't know, Aidan. Why do you ask?"

Aidan shrugged his shoulders. "I just thought he'd maybe wanna live with us since he loves us so much. Then he wouldn't have to go home and miss us."

Aidan went back to eating his breakfast as if he hadn't just suggested a huge change in their lives. As Scully thought about it, she realized it really wouldn't change that much. He was here all the time anyway. And he wouldn't have to go home for fresh clothes and to check his mailbox every other day. Actually it would make life a lot easier.

XxXxX

"What time is it?" Mulder sleepy as Scully was sitting on his bedside ruffling his hair to awaken him.

"It's almost a quarter past two", she said gently. "You've slept a little over 7 hours now, Mulder."

"Really?" he sounded slightly surprised as he rubbed his eyes and stretched his whole body.

He was so beautiful, Scully thought. She knew he'd object if she told him that. '_Men aren't beautiful, Scully – men are devastatingly handsome_' he'd say. But at moments like this he was beautiful to Scully.

"Yeah, really!" She answered him and ran her hands down his shoulders to his chest. She loved that she could touch him like this. Just how she'd imagined touching him every time she saw him before she learned that he loved her. Before she knew that she was entitled to touch him whichever way pleased her.

They talked about Mulder's case for a while. He told her how he'd managed to stop the Valentine Slayer just as he was about to impale his latest victims with a giant spear after two days of torture. He explained her how he'd simply followed the psychic's leads as no one else had been willing to. She knew he was more brilliant than that but she let him tell his story. As he was done she told him about Aidan's card and how he hadn't understood why she'd cried. Mulder thought she was very sweet and sat up to bestow a few gentle kisses to her lips.

"I really missed you, Scully." He sighed. "I was only away for a couple of days. I had no idea I'd miss you that bad."

"I missed you too, Mulder. Actually I've come up with a plan that gives us even more time together."

"That sounds very entitling", he said and sat behind her so she was sitting between his legs – he wrapped his arms around her and gave her neck a few kisses. "But I can't see how that's possible, Scully. The only time we're not together, if you don't count work, is when I go to my apartment out of necessity."

"Exactly", she chuckled and leaned back in his embrace and folded her arms over his.

"But I don't see… Wait!" 'C'mon, Mulder, you're almost there' she cheered him on mentally. "You want me to… you want us to live together?"

"Only if you want to. I can understand if it's too early, I mean we've only just admitted to each other how we feel 3 weeks ago and…"

"I want to!" he cut off her ramble.

"You will?" she seemed surprised.

"I love you. I wanna spend every waken moment of my life with you. And I love Aidan. I want to be here for him as well. I… I consider the two of you my family, Scully." He whispered that last part.

"I do too, Mulder. And Aidan does too. We are a family."

She turned her head around and looked into his eyes. The beautiful green eyes belonging to the man she loved were tearing up. A single tear fell down his cheek and into her hair. He was smiling the most tender smile she'd ever seen on any man. He claimed her lips with a gentle kiss and neither could stop smiling.

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><p><strong>Please review. <strong>


	10. Birthday Girl

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story even though I haven't been too good at updating it. You keep me inspired! **

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><p>Chapter 10 – Birthday Girl<p>

_Mulder and Scully's Apartment_

_February 22 1993, 3.17 pm_

Mulder and Scully were sitting in the kitchen, planning her birthday. She'd decided she wanted to invite some people over for dinner, and Mulder wanted to help her.

"So who's coming so far?" He asked.

"Mum and dad, Charlie and Jill with Christopher and Thomas, Bill and Tara, Ellen and Trent, and I still don't know about Melissa", she looked up from the page in her notebook. "She said she would make an effort to show up but with Melissa you never know."

"Do you miss her?" Mulder asked her as he caressed her hand with his thumb.

The question caught Scully off guard and her first impulse was to pull her hand out of Mulder's. But then something inside of her told her it was okay to show Mulder how she was feeling. There was no need to freak out. Mulder knew her heart; he could see her feelings even clearer than she could herself. And most importantly; she trusted him.

"Yes", she answered meekly, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes.

"It's alright to miss her, Scully", he told her comforting as he took hold of her other hand as well, placing her pen on the table. "And it's alright to talk to me about how you feel. I understand. She's your…" his voice broke slightly. "Sister."

"Oh, Mulder." Scully felt absolutely ridiculous.

She hadn't even thought about the fact that Mulder hadn't seen his own sister for more than 20 years. She had only thought about her own vulnerability and not how this was affecting Mulder. How could she have been so self-centered?

"I didn't even…" She began but he cut her off.

"It's okay. I… I didn't think about myself either before I told you I understood. Sometimes it just hits me, I guess. That doesn't make what you're feeling any less painful."

"I don't know, Mulder. Somehow it seems less relevant now", she smiled reassuringly at him. "I'll probably see my sister next weekend for my birthday, I'm just a spoiled brat, really! But you… you don't know when you'll see… Samantha, again", it felt strange for Scully to say her name out loud.

"You really think I'll see her again one day?" there was so much hope and yet so much fear in his voice.

Scully got up from her chair, never letting go of his hands though, and moved to stand next to Mulder. She sat down in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. He buried his head in her chest and squeezed her tight, enjoying the comfort she was offering.

"I… I want to believe that, Mulder", she said truthfully as she stroked his hair back.

He looked up at her with a crooked smile on his face. "Say that again", he was grinning now.

She rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help the smile on her lips. "I want to believe", she giggled.

"You coming on to me, Honeybunch?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"You bet I am… Poopyhead!"

"Poopyhead?" he asked her amused as their heads moved closer together.

"That's right." She whispered just before his lips caught hers.

While massaging her hip with his one hand the other immediately moved to her head into her hair so he could deepen the kiss. They sat like that for a while, hugging tightly and kissing each other lovingly.

A knock on the door broke their little trance. They both sighed annoyed with the disturbance.

"Are you expecting someone today?" Scully asked, confused about who could be visiting them on this fine Sunday.

"No, not a one." He told her as she got up from his lap – he missed her warmth instantly.

"Strange", she mumbled as she walked from the kitchen to the door.

Mulder followed her and watched her take a look through the peephole before she opened the door. As her eyes caught a glance at who was standing on the other side of the door she squealed.

Mulder chuckled as she opened the door in haste and exclaimed: "MELISSA!" Scully was like a little child. She jumped into her sister's arms, making Melissa drop the bag that had hung over her shoulder.

"Dana…" Melissa chuckled. "You missed me?"

"Of course I missed you." Scully finally pulled out of the hug. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here, baby sis?" She laughed. "It's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it? You think I'd miss that?" Melissa caught a glance of Mulder who was standing behind Scully in the doorway watching the sisters' display of affections.

"Is this your Mulder?" Melissa pointed to him and smiled knowingly down at her sister.

"Yes." Scully chuckled and looked over her shoulder at Mulder who gave her a loving smile.

Melissa carried her bag in from the hallway outside the apartment and closed the door.

"I'm Fox Mulder. Nice to meet you finally, Melissa." He smiled and extended his hand to her.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard _a lot_ about you." Melissa said teasingly as she shook his hand and gave her younger sister a little smile that made her blush.

"Alright, Danakins! Enough of this! Where are you hiding that wonderful little nephew of mine?"

"He's in his room." Scully chuckled and pointed in the direction if Aidan's room.

A few seconds after Melissa had left them they could hear Aidan shriek: "Auntie Missy!" with as much excitement as one little boy could contain. Mulder and Scully broke into laughing fits.

They were still laughing as they walked back to the kitchen. Mulder plunged back down in the chair and pulled Scully down with him. She went willingly, straddling him.

"I think Aidan appreciate your sister's visit." Mulder said as he squeezed her hips, pulling her closer to him.

"Mmh…" She tried to suppress a moan at the feeling of being so close to him. "Aidan adores Melissa. He always has."

"What have you told her about me, Scully?" Mulder remembered. "She said she'd heard _a lot_."

"Not much." Scully was blushing and clearly not telling the truth. "Well… she asked me if you're a great lover."

"Did she now?" Mulder was grinning. "And what did you tell her?"

"Mulder!" She rolled her eyes at him. "Do you really need me to stroke your ego?"

"So you told her I'm the best lover you've ever had?" His voice was lower and husky now – it made Scully's stomach flip-flop when he talked like that.

"Yes." She told him looking him straight in the eyes.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. They shared a few lazy and wet kisses.

"I love this, Scully." He sighed happily and indulged in another sweet little kiss.

"Me too." She agreed, knowing exactly what he meant. She felt so completely happy.

They continued their small, slow kisses, feeling utterly absorbed in each other. They didn't even notice when Aidan and Melissa joined them in the kitchen.

"They do that a lot." They heard Aidan tell Melissa.

"I think that's sweet." Melissa chuckled.

Aidan gave his aunt a look that indicated he didn't completely agree with her.

Mulder let go of Scully's hips and placed one last kiss on her lips before she got up.

Melissa joined Scully by the counter where Scully was gonna boil some water for tea since Melissa wasn't really a coffee drinker. Aidan pulled at Mulder's arm for attention as Mulder couldn't seem to stop gazing at Scully.

"Yeah?" He focused his attention on Aidan.

"Can we talk somewhere else?"

Aidan's question gained both Scully and Melissa's attention. They both turned around and were looking at the guys with interest.

"Of course, Aidan." Mulder knew what the little guy wanted to talk about so he brought him to the bedroom where he kept the birthday present they were giving Scully the next day.

"Wonder what that was about." Scully said to Melissa as Mulder and Aidan disappeared into the bedroom after looking over their shoulders to make sure they weren't being followed.

"C'mon, Dana." Melissa chuckled. "Don't tell me you can't figure that out."

"What? You know what's going on?"

"Well, I can guess. It's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Oh." Realization seemed to dawn upon Scully. "That's sweet."

"So…" Melissa sat down in the chair Mulder had been occupying earlier. "You and Mulder… sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

"That's mature, Melissa." Scully couldn't help the big grin on her face.

"You really seem happy, Dana. And he seems like a great guy."

"He is a great guy. The best."

"So you say…" Melissa chuckled under her breath.

"Shut up, Melissa!"

"Okay, I have to pee, but don't think you're off the hook yet." Melissa threatened as she got up from the chair. "When I come back you're gonna tell me everything, okay?"

"Sure. Fine. Whatever." Scully tried to maintain an indifferent face as Melissa went down the hall to use the bathroom.

Scully wondered what Mulder and Aidan were up to. She couldn't stop smiling as she thought about how cute they were, trying to keep her present a secret like this. As the water had boiled she made a cup of tea for Melissa and one for herself as well. Just as she sat down by the table in the kitchen with the tea Melissa returned.

"I must say, that Mulder guy sure is feeling at home here." She said as she sat down and blew air into her cup to cool the tea.

"What do you mean?"

"Razor, shaving cream, not to mention the Sport Section next to the toilet, it all screams of man."

"Actually there's a perfectly good reason for that." Scully was smiling secretly into her cup of tea.

"Do tell, sister!"

"Well, Mulder lives here."

"What?" Melissa burst out, eyes wide open. "Are you shitting me?"

"No, Melissa." Scully couldn't help but downright laugh at her sister's outburst.

"God, Dana, this one must really be special!" Melissa's face turned into a big smile as the surprise slowly wore off. "I'm so happy for you."

Melissa got up and went over to give her sister a hug.

"Thank you, Melissa." Scully chuckled into her shoulder.

XxXxX

_5.56 pm_

They all sat around the dinner table in the living room. Melissa had decided to help Scully with the preparations for the dinner party she was throwing next Saturday on the occasion of her birthday. The girls had been so busy planning away that Mulder had offered to make dinner for them. Aidan had been very eager to help him and together they'd managed to make a delicious pizza with a salad to go with.

Melissa chatted away, telling them all about her travels and the people she'd met, and Mulder realized how different she was from Scully. They were practically diametrical opposites and yet they were so close to each other. It fascinated Mulder.

Mulder was sitting next to Aidan and opposite Scully. As Aidan asked Melissa something Scully became aware of the fact that Mulder was staring at her. He had a sweet little smile on his face that made Scully blush.

'Tastes good' she mouthed and pointed down to the slice of pizza on her plate.

He just winked at her and extended his legs under the table so their lower legs were touching. There was nothing erotic about it per say but the contact was enough for a rise in Scully's body temperature.

"So, Mulder," Melissa began, making Mulder turn his eyes from Scully to her sister. "What do you think of our crazy family so far?"

"Well," Mulder chuckled at her choice of words. "I especially like this little guy."

He ruffled Aidan's hair which caused a big smile to light up on the little fellow's face.

"Everyone has been really good to me. So far I haven't met a Scully I didn't like. Oh yeah, and then I'm kind of fond of your sister."

"Oh, are you now?" Melissa was laughing. "I hadn't noticed."

"I hide it pretty well." Mulder nodded keeping a straight face.

"Sometimes you make me feel really special, Mulder." Scully huffed.

"Oh, I know I do," he said teasingly making her blush.

Mulder loved when he made her blush. There was something exhilarating about knowing he'd put the red in her cheeks. He felt kind of perverse for enjoying her discomfort but he couldn't help himself.

They finished dinner talking about something that made Scully less uncomfortable. As they had cleaned up after the meal Scully and Melissa continued with their plans for Scully's dinner party. Mulder had no idea what needed so much planning but he didn't comment. He noticed Aidan had pizza sauce around his mouth and decided to give him a shower before putting him to bed.

As Aidan was buttoning his pajama shirt Mulder noticed he'd done the buttons up wrong. He couldn't help chuckle at how clumsy and cute it was.

"C'mere, Aidan," he said and pulled him over to stand between his legs as he was sitting on top of the toilet.

"You know what, Mulder?" Aidan said as Mulder began doing the buttons right.

"What?" Mulder smiled.

"I've never had a shower before," he announced proudly.

"Really?" Mulder sounded more surprised than he really was.

Aidan nodded and gave Mulder a toothless smile.

"But you were so good at it, Aidan." Mulder exclaimed looking down at him skeptically. "Are you pulling my leg here, young man? Tell me the truth now!"

"It's true, Mulder," Aidan grinned. "Mom always gives me baths."

"Well, you're a big boy, Aidan. Tell your mother not to treat you like a baby."

"She wants me to stay little forever," Aidan chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," Mulder agreed. "You go tell her you're big enough to take a shower."

"I will!" Aidan grinned and ran out of the bathroom as Mulder was done buttoning his shirt.

Mulder smiled to himself. Aidan was such a special little boy. He loved it when he put that proud smile on his face. He joined the others in the kitchen as he'd cleaned up after Aidan's shower.

"I told her, Mulder," Aidan exclaimed still smiling proudly.

Aidan was sitting in his aunt's lap, Melissa and Scully were having another cup of tea.

"Good, Aidan," he said and moved to stand behind Scully.

"I don't treat him like a baby," Scully said slightly offended, she looked up at Mulder by bending her head back.

"You're a mother, of course you treat your boy like a baby," Mulder chuckled down at her, massaging her shoulders lightly.

"Did your mom treat you like a baby too?" Aidan wanted to know.

"She sure did. I wore a diaper till my 18'th birthday!"

This made them all laugh and Aidan exclaimed: "Mulder, you're so silly!"

XxXxX

_10.05 pm_

Aidan had been put to bed hours ago. Mulder had finished some work on his computer while Scully and Melissa were sitting in the couch talking, catching up.

"You done with your work?" Scully asked sweetly as Mulder sat down next to her.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. Sorry I can't stay up and talk."

"Actually, I'm pretty tired myself. Do you mind, Melissa?"

"Of course not!" She chuckled at how polite Scully was to her own sister: always the well-mannered and well-behaved Dana Scully. "I think I'm gonna take a nice long bath."

"I'll make the couch for you before I go to bed," Scully insisted and Melissa knew there was no arguing with her.

Mulder went into the bedroom and undressed down to his boxers. As he got into the bed he could hear Melissa filling the tub in the bathroom. He wondered if Scully would want to make love to him when her sister was crashing on the couch. Since they'd become intimate they hadn't spend the night together without having sex.

When Scully entered the bedroom she noticed something was up with Mulder - he definitely had something on his mind. God, he was handsome! He was sitting up in the bed, the sheets only covering his legs. She noticed how his biceps and triceps flexed slightly as he fidgeted with the sheets by his sides. He was watching her, as if gauging her reaction - she didn't know what she was supposed to react to though.

"Is something on your mind, Mulder?" She asked him as she moved to her dresser to pick out something to sleep in.

"Yes," he answered her after almost a minute had gone by.

She had found a nightgown to wear and was undressing now. "Do you care to share?" she asked as she eased out of her pants.

"I was just thinking about something… about how we've… made love, every night we've spend together."

"We have, haven't we?" She smiled back at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah," a little smirk emerged on his lips. "Well, I was wondering if that'd change tonight."

"Are you not feeling up to it?" She asked him seriously. Secretly she knew he was concerned about Melissa's presence, but she'd never give up an opportunity to tease him.

"Of course I am!" He assured her. "Anywhere, anytime, Scully!"

"Well, that's a bit desperate, Mulder. I'm glad you didn't add anyone though," she chuckled at her own funny.

"Trust me, Scully: after having been with you, anyone else wouldn't even come close to the thrill of a bumpy car ride. Besides, I love _you_."

Scully had only meant it as a joke. She knew Mulder would never cheat on her, in spite of his rather big appetite for sex. His reassuring words were working their magic on Scully though.

She lost the rest of her clothes, trying not to hurry but she was suddenly eager to join Mulder in the bed. She saw Mulder gulp as she undressed of her bra and lick his lips as she pulled her panties down. She pulled the white nightgown that went mid thigh on quickly and turned around to finally face him.

"Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to make love tonight. Even though my sister's here. You'll have to be quiet though," she added teasingly.

"I know you just put that nightgown on, Scully - but do you think you could lose it again?"

"Only if you lose your boxers."

While Scully pulled the gown over her head, Mulder's eyes never left her. He pulled his own boxers down under the covers and threw them to the floor. As Scully was now naked she crawled under the covers into the bed. Mulder, who was on his side, met her in the middle of the bed.

"Hi there," he said as he caressed her cheek.

She bopped his nose with her finger in response and grinned all over her flushed face. They looked into each other's eyes - both noticing how dark the others eyes were, neither could hide their lust nor love.

Mulder moved so he was on top of her, settling between her legs. She clearly felt his hard member against her thigh. While looking deep into her eyes he moved his hand down to her entrance. Upon feeling how wet and ready she was for him he couldn't quite suppress a groan.

As he guided himself into her she spread her legs wider for him. When he slowly entered her it was pure bliss. He watched her intently as he began thrusting into her ever so gently. She was so beautiful to him. He bent his head down and began kissing her neck as he kept moving ever so slowly in and out of her.

As his lips teased her neck she moaned his name in a whisper. Her hands ran down his strong muscular back to his ass. She squeezed it as he thrust into her before running her hands back up to his shoulders.

He marveled in the way she touched him and the way her hard nipples poked into his chest when he moved. As he stopped teasing her neck he looked into her eyes again. Her face was even more flushed than it had been just minutes earlier and her blue eyes shone with excitement. Her lips were parted and she was moaning slightly, breathing very heavily. He reached down and pulled her legs further up allowing him to go even deeper into her. This changed the angle slightly and he could tell he was hitting it just right.

Scully's eyes closed in pure pleasure and she lolled her head backwards. Her moaning intensified as well, it almost sounded as if she was saying something but he couldn't quite make out what. He kept moving slowly, savoring each stroke. As he leaned down and whispered in her ear: "God, I love you", he could feel her internal muscles clench around him and her nails dig into his back. He buried his head in her shoulder and tried to keep the slow pace he had set. Scully kept trembling and he realized what she was moaning. She was repeating his name. Over and over again, like a mantra. "Mulder, Mulder, Mulder…"

Her hands moved down to his butt again and he felt her nails dig into his skin once more. He lifted his head slightly and panted into her ear: "I love you, Scully. I love you, I love you", he repeated his sentiment every time he pushed into her. Her orgasm reached its climax and she involuntarily arched her back as she cried out his name softly.

As she opened her eyes again he was looking into them with his sparkling green ones. Sweat was visible on his face and shoulders and as she ran her hand through his hair it felt wet with perspiration. She reached up and claimed his lips with her own. He groaned into their kiss and sped up his pace. She could feel his climax wasn't far off and kissed him more passionate. As she thrust her tongue into his mouth it was met by his own persistent tongue. He moved his hand down under her and he tilted her hips upwards so he could thrust harder into her. Soon his mouth stilled and as she continued to kiss his neck he came inside of her.

She could feel his stubble on her cheek and his breathing in her ear. He groaned her name as he came and she loved how his voice sounded at the time. So rough and yet so loving.

As he was lying motionless on top of her she stroked his back lovingly and kissed his jaw, cheek, forehead, and nose.

"I love you." She murmured.

"I love you too."

He lifted his head and gave her a few gentle kisses. He kissed her cheeks, her forehead, the tip of her nose, her eyelids, her chin, and just as he was planting a kiss at the corner of her mouth they heard someone just outside the door, beginning to open it.

Thinking quickly Scully reached out and turned the light on the lamp beside them off leaving the room in darkness.

"Oh!" They heard Melissa's voice. "Are you guys awake? I could've sworn I saw your light on."

"Actually I just turned it off, I… I finished reading and Mulder's sleeping."

"Oh, sorry." Melissa whispered. "I just wanted to say goodnight."

"Goodnight, Melissa." Scully chuckled slightly.

As Melissa closed the door again Mulder rolled over in his back and drew Scully into his side.

"Good thing you think so fast, Scully. My brain is mush right now!" He chuckled at the scenario of almost getting caught.

Scully laughed with him and sighed content as she cuddled up to Mulder.

XxXxX

_February 23, 6.00 am_

Scully hit the alarm clock with an annoyed grunt as it beeped away and cuddled back up to Mulder. He chuckled and pushed the hair out of her face.

"Wake up, Scully." He sang.

"Mulder." She mumbled annoyed into his chest. "Shut up, or I swear I'll maim or seriously injure you!"

"Happy birthday, Scully." He chuckled.

At this she lifted her head and smiled at him. "Oh yeah!" She remembered and lit up. "Thank you, Mulder." She giggled and gave him a gentle kiss.

He smiled down at her. "You go shower and I'll make breakfast and wake up Aidan."

"Okay." She happily agreed and kissed him one last time before getting up from bed.

Mulder admired her naked body as she stretched before walking over and putting on her robe before sending him a smile over her shoulder as she walked to the bathroom.

Mulder sighed and got out of bed himself. He pulled on some grey sweatpants and a white tank top he'd worn Saturday evening, after all he couldn't just walk around in his boxers like he used to in the morning, not when Melissa was visiting.

As he placed the waffles in the oven to heat them, Melissa joined him in the kitchen. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and pajama pants.

"Morning, Melissa. Did you sleep well?" He asked her kindly leaning against the counter.

"Morning." She yawned and stretched. "I slept like a baby, thank you. Is the birthday girl up?"

"Yeah, she's taking a shower. I told her I'd have breakfast ready when she was done. Could you brew some coffee while I go wake up Aidan?"

"Sure." She nodded and moved slowly to the coffee maker.

Maybe it was a Scully trade not being a morning person, Mulder thought as he walked down the hallway to Aidan's room.

"Aidan." He said gently while stroking his hair. "It's time to wake up, little man."

"Mmh." Aidan mumbled, scrunching his face. "5 more minutes…"

"C'mon." Mulder chuckled. "It's your mom's birthday and we're having waffles."

At the mention of his mother his eyes slowly began to open and he smiled up at Mulder. "Can we give her the present now?"

"As soon as you get dressed and come out to have breakfast." Mulder smiled.

"Will you get my clothes?"

Scully always picked out Aidan's clothes so he wasn't use to doing it himself.

"C'mon, Aidan. You're a big boy now, remember?"

Aidan sat up in his bed and looked over to his closet before looking back to Mulder. "You can go now, Mulder." He smiled and headed for the dresser first and dug out a black pair of socks.

Mulder smiled as he walked back to the bedroom to find Scully's gift. He'd been hiding it in his gym bag in their closet since he knew Scully didn't dare open it.

As Mulder had gotten breakfast ready and Aidan had come out wearing light blue jeans and a red sweater with a white t-shirt underneath, Scully finally came into the kitchen. She was wearing a black skirt which stopped below her knees and a white dress shirt tucked into her skirt. Mulder noticed how well her shirt shoved off her figure.

They all started singing Happy Birthday to her and she blushed slightly as she sat down at the table and enveloped Aidan in a hug.

"Thank you, guys." She chuckled as they were done singing.

Aidan looked excitedly to Mulder for permission to give his mom her gift. Mulder nodded at him and grabbed Scully's hand which was lying on the table as he kissed her cheek.

"From Mulder and me." Aidan said proudly as he handed her the gift wrapped in shiny red paper.

"Thank you." Scully smiled and looked smiling at Mulder beside her before she began opening her present.

"You guys!" Scully smiled as she saw the beautiful necklace they had picked out for her. "It's beautiful."

It was a gold necklace with a gold heart pendant. The heart had a single ruby in it.

"You can open the heart." Aidan told her excitedly.

She smiled and opened the locket. In one side of the heart was a picture of Mulder and Aidan. She remembered having taken the picture an afternoon they visited a museum. Mulder was hoisting Aidan on his hip while pointing at something and explaining it to Aidan. Only their faces show in the little picture in the heart though: Aidan is looking with interest up at Mulder and Mulder's smiling at Scully as he sees her taking a picture. In the other side of the heart they've had the words: _Love Aidan & Mulder_ engraved.

Scully's eyes well up and she's close to tears at how considerate her two guys are. "Thank you." She manages to whisper.

"I love you, mom." Aidan says sweetly and stands up to give her a hug. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, sweetie." Scully smiles and kisses him in the hair.

"And thank you, Mulder." She says turning to him.

He bends his head and plants a few gentle kisses on her lips. "Love you."

"Love you too." She whispers. "You wanna help me?" She says holding up the necklace.

"Of course." He says and stands behind. He takes the necklace and carefully places it around her neck. As she removes the hair from her nape he locks it and kisses her cheek to let her know he's done.

"Thank you." She smiles up at him and touches the heart pendant.

"It's really beautiful." Melissa comments with a smile, touched by the family scene she's just witnessed.

As breakfast is eaten and Mulder has showered and dressed it's time to go. They all say goodbye to Melissa and walk down the stairs together.

"Have a nice day, Aidan." Mulder says and gives the young boy's shoulder a squeeze. "Could you go wait in the car while I talk to your mom for a few seconds?"

"Okay. Bye, Mulder." Aidan smiles and gets into the backseat of his mother's car.

"I just wanted to tell you I really enjoyed last night." Mulder told her as he drew her into his arms.

She'd just expected him to tell her happy birthday again, and her cheeks blushed at his words.

"Me too." She sighed, content in his arms. "I should get going, Mulder. When do you think you'll be home?"

"I should be home by 6 at the latest, I'll see if there's any chance I can leave early though."

"I won't be home until 5.30 myself anyway. I'll miss you." She smiled up at him.

He smiled back and kissed her. It was gently at first but then she felt his tongue slip into her mouth as he deepened the kiss. As they came up for air they chuckled and kissed gently once again before walking their separate ways, each to their own car.

XxXxX

_J. Edgar Hoover Building_

_1.12 pm_

Mulder was relieved when Skinner adjourned the meeting. It had lasted four hours so far, with way too few breaks in Mulder's opinion. Just as he was about to pop out the door, he heard those words that always managed to sent a shiver down his spine, and not the good kind: "Agent Mulder, I'ld like to have a talk with you before you go!"

Mulder turned around and watched as Skinner moved from the conference table to the seat behind his desk, while the other agents got their things together and fleet the room.

"Good luck." Someone mumbled sarcastically as they passed him.

"Sit down." Skinner motioned for the seat in front of the desk while he read a paper he had in his hand.

"Sir, am I in trouble?" Mulder dared ask.

"In trouble? No, why would you be in trouble, Agent Mulder?" He looked straight into Mulder's eyes, his glasses perched on his nose, looking above them.

"I was just wondering why you needed to talk to me alone, Sir."

"You changed your address recently."

"Oh." Mulder sighed relieved. "Yes. I moved in with my… ehm…" He always had a hard time putting a title on what Scully was to him. Girlfriend sounded to high school, lover didn't seem serious enough, partner was too professional, and friend wasn't exactly truthful either - they were more now. "With my significant other."

"Well, Agent Mulder, I'm happy for you!" The corners of Skinner's mouth moved slightly in what Mulder imagined to be a smile. "I wasn't aware you were seeing anyone. It wouldn't happen to be the woman you brought to the Halloween party, would it?" He asked knowingly.

"That's the one, Sir." Mulder smiled as he thought of her. "Dana Scully."

"That's right." Skinner nodded remembering. "You're a lucky man; she seemed like a very reasonable young lady."

"I feel lucky, Sir."

"Dr. Scully has a son, hasn't she?"

"Yes, she does. His name is Aidan."

"So you're a stepdad now, huh?"

"I… I guess." Mulder hadn't really thought about that before.

"I must say, I can't quite imagine you fathering anybody." Skinner squinted his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Neither could I until recently." Mulder grinned. "But Aidan's such a great and special kid."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy, Agent Mulder!"

"That I am."

"Good. And I know you have a lot of vacation time piled up, I'm sure you'll be using that now you have a family of your own."

"I probably will, Sir." He smiled.

"You probably want to go finish your work now, so you can get home to them." Skinner let out a small breath which Mulder interpreted as a chuckle.

"Thank you, Sir. It's Dana's birthday today so I'm very eager to get home." He said as he got up from his chair.

"You know what, Agent Mulder? Just hand in your rapport tomorrow before you leave - you can go home now."

"Thank you, Sir." Mulder smiled widely.

XxXxX

_Mulder and Scully's Apartment_

_February 28, 4.30 pm_

Scully had had a perfect birthday. When she came home from work Mulder had dinner ready and he'd bought her favorite ice cream, triple chocolate, for dessert as well. She'd had fun with Melissa, and Aidan had been so sweet and had drawn her close to a billion drawings that day.

The guests had arrived at 3 and Scully was happy to find that her mother had already informed the rest of the family about her new relationship with Mulder. She hated telling her brothers about her love life, especially since they'd never approved of any of the guys she'd gone out with, except James; Bill had oddly enough liked him.

Charlie was, thankfully, approving of Mulder. Unfortunately, Bill didn't seem to happy about it though. He hadn't said anything but he'd shaken Mulder's hand a little too hard when they said hello and he hadn't said a word to him so far.

Scully was preparing dinner in the kitchen when Mulder came to see how she was doing.

"Need any help?" He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her from behind as she was cutting some romaine lettuce.

"No thanks." She giggled as he rubbed his cold nose against her cheek.

"Everything's under control?" He asked resting his head on her shoulder, hugging her tightly.

"Yup. Roast's in the oven, potatoes are boiling, gravy is simmering, and the dressing for the Caesar Salad is in the fridge."

"Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think your brother likes me."

Scully chuckled at his statement. "He liked you before he knew about us." She pointed out.

"Well, he must not think I'm suited for you then."

"So what? I think you're suited for me, Mulder!" She turned around in his arms and he rested his forehead against hers as she placed her hands on his chest calming him.

"Thank you, Scully." He smiled and kissed her quick.

"I love you, Mulder." She smiled herself and kissed him back, a deeper and more loving kiss.

They broke their kiss off as Mrs. Scully entered the kitchen. She was smiling knowingly at them, no doubt thinking about how Cpt. Scully and she had been when their relationship was as new as theirs. Of course, she wanted to help but seeing as Scully had everything under control she settled for setting the table with Mulder.

The children sat in the couch eating while the grownups sat by the dinner table in the living room.

"So how long have you been in town, Melissa?" Cpt. Scully asked as they began eating.

"Since Sunday afternoon, I've been crashing here whole week but if it's alright I'll come home with you and mom tonight."

"Sure, honey." Mrs. Scully replied happily. "I hope you'll stay some time, we rarely get to see you."

"I might stay for a while." She smiled to her mother. "As long as I don't have to listen to the loud sex Dana and Fox have every night anymore."

"Melissa!" Mrs. Mulder scolded her in shock.

Scully turned a bright shade of red, Mulder suddenly found his plate very interesting, Cpt. Scully shook his head, Bill looked furious with eyes wide open, while Melissa, Charlie, Jill, Tara, and Ellen were laughing.

"Relax, mom, I'm joking!" Melissa managed to utter between laughs.

"Good one, Melissa!" Charlie was still laughing as he high-fived his sister.

"Of course you're joking." Bill decided to join the conversation. "I'm sure he doesn't sleep over every night anyway."

"Actually… we're living together, Bill." Scully decided to be frank, and to get it over with quickly.

"Oh, congratulations, honey!" Mrs. Scully exclaimed, and the others joined in and congratulated them.

Bill remained quite though.

"When did you move in, Fox?"

"About ten days ago or so." He smiled and put his arm around Scully, who looked loving up at him.

"You're moving a bit fast, aren't you?" Bill asked, making Scully sigh annoyed.

"I know you're just concerned for me, Bill, but I'm a big girl, okay? I can take care of myself!"

"Okay, okay!" Bill surrendered, knowing better than to ruin his baby sister's birthday party, he'd have to address it on a later time though, he thought to himself.

As they were done eating, Scully brought out a game of Trivial Pursuit. Naturally she partnered up with Mulder, Cpt. with Mrs. Scully, Charlie with Jill, Bill with Tara, and Melissa with Ellen. They all played and laughed and had a good time. The kids were playing in Aidan's room and they checked up on them once in a while. A few hours later, Scully decided to serve dessert so Charlie and Jill and Ellen could get home with the kids before they fell asleep in Aidan's room. She'd made brownies the night before. When she'd heated them she served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and raspberries. Everyone found it delicious, and the kids asked for more ice cream. As they'd all finished eating, and the grownups had downed a cup of coffee people started leaving.

Soon it was just the three of them again. It felt quiet and peaceful now.

"That went well." Mulder commented as they were sitting in the couch, after putting Aidan to bed.

"It went really well. I can't believe what Melissa said though!" She chuckled.

"Yeah." Mulder grinned with her. "I was afraid she was serious."

"Me too. I mean I thought we'd been fairly quiet this week, but sometimes it's not exactly up to oneself."

"Like when you clawed me." He smirked at her.

She'd realized Tuesday morning as they'd taken a shower together, how she'd scratched Mulder's back.

"I told you I was sorry about that!"

"Don't be, I think it's sexy, Scully."

"You like pain?" She asked doubting him.

"No, not because of the pain. Because you were enjoying yourself so much you couldn't help yourself. I take pride in that." He said and lowered his voice as he moved his lips towards hers.

"You're sweet." She giggled and kissed him.

"I love you."

"I know."

* * *

><p><strong>Please review and tell me what you think. Let me know you're all still reading.<strong>


	11. The Storm

**Sorry, it's been so long! I have had a lot of studying to do lately and on top of that I have a couple of other fanfictions I'm currently writing. One of the others I'm gonna finish soon though so I should have a wee bit more time for Savior. I've really missed this story.**

**A couple of months have passed in the story since the last chapter - in case you'll be wondering.**

**WARNING: This chapter is quite scary, no kids please.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11 - The Storm<p>

_Mulder and Scully's Apartment_

_May 10 1993, 1.15 am_

"You're amazing!" Scully panted.

"Not as amazing as you," Mulder shook his head breathing hard as he gave her butt a good squeeze.

"Mmh," she moaned and moved closer to him, a nearly impossible task as she was currently resting on top of him.

Mulder was working a case that took up a lot of his time and he'd come home late this past week. The same had been the case tonight but as he'd been shredding his clothes she'd woke up. He'd apologized for waking her at first, of course, but she'd soon convinced him he didn't have anything to be sorry about.

"God, I missed this," she sighed in between kisses to his chest and neck.

"I'm sorry," he told her sounding very sincere. "I know I haven't been around lately and…"

"Mulder!" she interrupted him with a laugh. "I understand. Of course, you have to work! And I know you're especially devoted to this case. I knew you were passionate about your work before I got involved with you and I never expected that to change. Besides, I've noticed you don't take a lot of out-of-state cases anymore. I thought… I thought that was because of me and Aidan. So that you get involved like this with a case every now and then, it isn't that bad, Mulder. It doesn't make you a bad person. You're here for us, we never doubt that."

"It is because of you, Scully. And Aidan. I can't stand being away from you. I can't just pack a bag and leave in a day's notice anymore. I need to investigate all I can before going because if it's a waste of time, I'd never forgive myself for any minute I could be with you but isn't."

His hands were moving up and down her back, stroking her. Every word he said made her dizzier and his fingers lay a hot burning trail on Scully's skin. She captured his lips with her own.

His hands moved up her sides and he kissed her back with such passion she couldn't help another moan escape her mouth. He groaned into their kiss in response. He knew where this was going… again. He knew he had to get up early in the morning. He couldn't care less. He could feel himself harden anew even though it'd only been minutes since their last encounter. Only Scully could have this effect on him. Her lips travelled down his jaw and down to his neck. He was enjoying himself so much he couldn't think straight. He knew he was just touching her sides but he was unable to do anything else as her kisses moved down to his chest. Then he realized what she was planning to do. Her kisses moved further and further down. He could feel the skin on his stomach tingle under her lips' caresses. "Fuck, Scully," he groaned loudly. They hadn't been together like this in days and she was planning to pleasure him in such manor. She had to be the sexiest being alive, he thought.

She was moving her tongue in and out of his belly button when there was a sound that made them both freeze. It was coming from the door. Someone was there. They weren't knocking, they were rather pounding on the door.

"Mulder?" Scully whispered, now sitting up in the bed, and he was able to hear the fright in her voice.

Mulder sat up himself. There was another pound. At the possibility of danger all blood rushed back to his brain, making him slightly dizzy. He stood up, nonetheless, and pulled on the pair of black dress pants he'd been wearing to work.

"Stay here," he told Scully and handed her his white shirt to put on her naked body along with her panties that had somehow ended up on the nightstand.

He took his gun out of its safe and looked at Scully one last time before moving out of the bedroom. Her red hair was a mess, sticking out in all directions; she was closing the buttons of his shirt around her, giving him a vague smile. He nodded at her, telling her everything would be alright, he'd keep her safe. She understood, he read in her beautiful blue eyes.

As Mulder walked through the living room there was another pound on the door. His heart was beating fast. He was at the door now and dared a peek through the peephole, his gun ready in his right hand.

His worst fears were confirmed as he saw an older man with dark graying hair stand in front of his door, smiling calmly. He was dressed in black and Mulder knew him to be Abaddon. A man seemingly coming from nowhere. Mulder had worked this case for a week now trying to learn everything he could about him. But there was nothing to learn. This man had never been born he simply were. Mulder, of course, knew the meaning of his name. Abaddon: meaning destruction, ruination. A name given to the angel of the bottomless pit. A destroyer. This man feed off of fear. He torture men, women, and children in order to keep himself alive. He needed the fear people possessed as they realized they were going to die.

"Hello, Fox," he said quietly, knowing Mulder was right on the other side of the door. "I thought I could smell that noble fear of yours."

"Is that how you choose your victims, Abaddon?" Mulder felt himself panic. "You choose the ones with the best cologne?"

"We both know how I choose them, Fox. You don't have to play stupid. Now open this door."

"If I believe you, why should I let you into my home? If you really are the Destroyer why shouldn't I just call for backup?" Mulder was buying time trying to figure out how to get Scully and Aidan out of here.

"Well," he chuckled making the hair on Mulder's back stand out. "Electrical devices, such as the telephone, have a tendency to, shall we say… malfunction, when I'm around."

Mulder already knew this of course. Several of his victims had tried to call for help but the phones had been found melted on the crime scenes. One had even got to a computer which had been found completely burnt out.

"Is that so?" Mulder tried to sound doubting.

"It is," he simply answered him. "Now, open this door, Fox. Or something very bad will happen to the pretty little lady you had your dick buried in not twenty minutes ago."

Mulder had no control of his actions as he flung the door open and pointed his gun to Abaddon's head, every fiber of his body telling him to pull the trigger just to wipe the smug expression off his face.

"You won't shoot me, Fox," he shook his head as if Mulder had told him a funny joke.

"Yeah? Why not?" Mulder demanded clenching his jaw. "Do I need a wooden stake?"

"Oh no," he let out a laugh again. "A bullet should do the trick. But do you really want to kill me in front of your son, Fox?"

Mulder's eyes widened at his words. Abaddon was looking over Mulder's shoulder, smiling at someone. Mulder took a quick look keeping his gun on the creature in front of him.

"Go back to your room, Aidan!" he said firmly as he felt his heart beat even faster.

"No, Aidan, you should stay," he said smiling at the little boy who stood in his green pajamas, his red hear tousled from sleep. "We're going to have a lot of fun."

"Shut up!" Mulder exclaimed taking a step closer to Abaddon, the gun now making contact with his forehead.

"Oh, now it's a party," Abaddon said, his eyes scanning something behind Mulder.

"Mulder?" Scully said in surprise at the scene in front of her.

"She is beautiful, Fox," he goaded Mulder as his eyes looked her up and down. "I wouldn't want to be disturbed either if I had her in my bed."

Mulder could see his eyes darken with lust as he spoke and felt sick as he remembered the women and children he'd raped before killing them. Visions of horrible crime scene photos flashed before his eyes and he felt his anger built towards the man standing in front of him.

"Scully, take Aidan to the bedroom and stay in there!" he ordered her, never looking her way, his eyes focused on Abaddon.

"Does he always order you around like that?" his cold voice asked addressing Scully.

Scully picked up Aidan and hoisted him on his hip - she felt how her boy shook all over.

"I'm scared," he whispered to his mother.

"Don't be scared, Aidan," Abaddon spoke. "Your daddy is just confused right now, he doesn't mean it."

Mulder was just about to tell him to shut up again when Aidan spoke up.

"He's not my dad," he said strictly.

For some reason his words cut into Mulder's heart. He had no idea why. He knew Aidan wasn't his son. Lately he just hadn't thought much about the fact.

Mulder's gun flew from his hand. He'd been casting a glance towards Aidan and Scully and Abaddon had taken advantage of it.

He heard Scully gasp as he fell to the floor, his jaw hurt where Abaddon had hit it with his impossible strength. Before Mulder could get up another fist hit him in face. And another one. He groaned out in pain.

"STOP!" Scully yelled, tears running down her face as she hugged her son to her chest. "Stop hurting him!"

"No…" Mulder mumbled. "Scully, ge-get out!"

Abaddon picked up Mulder's gun and held it to Mulder's chest.

"NO!" Scully exclaimed.

"Sit down in the couch or I'll kill him," he spoke softly as if he'd just offered her a cup of tea.

Scully walked over to the couch with Aidan and sat down, she noticed Mulder wasn't moving.

The man walked down the hallway towards the bedrooms, the gun still in hand.

"Mulder?" Scully called out carefully.

He didn't answer her. She heard the man rummage around in her and Mulder's bedroom. She felt nausea.

"Mommy?" Aidan sobbed.

"Ssh, Aidan, everything's gonna be okay," she told him stroking his hair.

"You shouldn't tell lies," the man had returned to the living room.

He went over to Mulder and dragged him over to the wall facing the couch. He sat him up against the wall. Scully noticed he had a pair of handcuffs in his hand. They were Mulder's and he usually kept them in his safe along with his gun, Scully remembered Mulder hadn't closed the safe after taking out his gun. He cuffed Mulder's right hand first, then pulled it behind Mulder's back, cuffing the left one as well.

Scully noticed the blood running down from his face to his bare chest. The man had only hit him three times but Mulder was out cold.

Scully heard the man turn on the water in the kitchen and not long after he returned with a glass of water. He took a small sip of the water before splashing it into Mulder's face.

Mulder awoke with a startle. He instantly remembered what was happening and struggled against his handcuffs to no avail. He was cuffed to the pipe by the wall and he saw Scully and Aidan sitting in the couch opposite him. Scully was holding Aidan to her so he wasn't able to see anything. Scully looked more scared than he'd ever seen her. He felt his own fear overtake him. He couldn't let this man hurt his family.

Abaddon took a deep breath and for a second Scully thought he looked younger. Hadn't his hair been graying? She was so confused and so scared. She thought her heart might beat out of her chest.

The man sat down in an armchair, giving him a full view of both the couch and Mulder.

"Why did you never tell me you had a family, Fox?" he sighed.

"Let them go!" Mulder yelled at him. "Take me! Let them go!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Fox," Abaddon shrugged. "Without them you can't give me what I need."

Mulder screamed in despair, fighting, trying to free himself.

"Would you stop that?" he asked softly pointing the gun lazily towards the couch.

Mulder stopped moving immediately, breathing heavily.

"Aidan," he spoke, making both Mulder and Scully tense. "Look at me or I'll kill mommy."

Aidan drew his face away from Scully's neck and looked at the man, tears falling down his face, his eyes red.

"Do you know why I thought Fox was your daddy?" he asked him, smiling at Aidan. "Answer me, boy."

"N-no," he spoke.

"I can feel what Fox is feeling," he said secretively. "He feels like you're his son."

Aidan looked over to Mulder, seeming confused. His mom stoked his back comfortingly as he was sitting in her lap.

"Mulder loves you like a son, Aidan - but he knows he's not your dad," Scully said and kissed his cheek, she hated seeing Aidan so helpless; he didn't understand all of this.

"Hush now, mommy!" Abaddon raised his voice slightly for the first time since he'd come to them that evening. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to Fox, now would we?"

Scully shook her head and kept quiet.

"Do you like Fox, Aidan?" he was back to his creepy calm voice.

"Yes," Aidan nodded and looked at Mulder who smiled weakly back at him.

"Does he sleep with your mommy?"

Mulder fought against his handcuffs again but as Abaddon raised his gun slightly he held back.

Aidan nodded.

"Do you know what he does to your mommy, Aidan? Do you know what he does when they're alone?" his eyes shone with glee as he asked these questions.

"Yes," Aidan said, Mulder noticed with joy that the glee left Abaddon's eyes at Aidan's response.

"Oh? What do they do then, Aidan?"

"You're talking about making love," he stated.

It was clear that Abaddon was a bit thrown off by Aidan's nonchalance towards this subject but he kept going, nonetheless.

"Have you seen them, Aidan? Have you seen Fox and your mommy naked together?"

"No!" Aidan shook his head.

"Then how do you know what they do when they're alone, Aidan? Have you been a bad boy? Have you been spying on mommy and Fox?"

"No!" Aidan said anger clear in his voice. "They told me."

"Did they tell you about making love?"

"They said it's for grown-ups."

"Do you want to know what it is, Aidan?" a smile played on Abaddon's face.

"No," Aidan said at once. "I'm not old enough, mommy said so."

"Did mommy say that?" he was patronizing him.

"Yes," Aidan said defiantly.

"Then you have to go to your room now, Aidan."

Aidan sat still in his mother's lap, not knowing what to do.

"I'm going to make love to your mommy, Aidan, so you have to go to your room," Abaddon said calmly.

"NO!" Aidan and Mulder yelled in unison.

"You leave her alone!" Mulder spat.

"Go to your room, Aidan!" Abaddon said, getting up from the chair and walking over to Mulder, putting the gun to his head.

"It's okay, Aidan," Scully said. "I'll be alright, I promise you."

Aidan hesitantly got up.

"Yes, mommy wants this to happen, Aidan," Abaddon spoke making Aidan look to his mother in worry.

"Go," she nodded to her son, trying to keep strong so he could get to safety.

Aidan walked to his room slowly. As Abaddon saw him close his bedroom door he sat back in his armchair.

"What a beautiful boy," he told Scully, making her feel sick again.

She simply nodded.

"What do you say, Fox? Should we have a little fun?" Abaddon knowingly provoked him.

"I'll kill you!" Mulder warned him.

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport!" Abaddon chuckled. "What's your name, sugar?"

Scully sank before answering: "Dana," in a small voice.

"Ah, Dana," he sighed and leaned back in his chair, moving his gun to his left hand where he held it lazily pointing towards Mulder. "Take the shirt off."

"E-excuse me?" she said, feeling fear overtake her - she already felt naked in just her panties and Mulder's dress shirt.

"The shirt. Off with it," he said. "Now!"

Hesitantly she stood up from the couch, but she couldn't get herself to unbotton the shirt.

"You're lovely," he told her smiling. "Now turn around for me."

She felt sick to her stomach as she saw his hand travel down into his pants as she turned around in front of him.

"Good, very good," he moaned. "And now off with that shirt!"

His hand was moving in his pants and she felt a tear escape from her eye. Her hands moved to the button and she unbuttoned the first one slowly.

"Faster!" he commanded her. "I can't wait to see your tits."

She unbuttoned a few more buttons, not really showing anything yet.

Suddenly the man straightened up in the chair. He extracted his hand from his pants and looked surprised at Mulder. Something was wrong.

"Fox?" Abaddon said, out of control for the first time in… a really long time.

"Yes," he smiled at him.

"What..? You're not afraid… how?" Abaddon moved over to Mulder and crouched in front of him.

"I'll tell you how," Mulder leaned forward.

Abaddon looked at him with interest and then, without warning, Mulder's fist connected with the man's face. He fell backwards, the gun flew out of his hand and out of his reach. Mulder had always kept the key to the handcuffs in his wallet which happened to still be in the pants he'd worn to work, and he'd finally been able to locate it with the limited use of his hands. Unfazed, Abaddon kicked Mulder in the chest making him fall back against the wall.

"NO!" Scully exclaimed.

Abaddon changed his focus to her.

He smiled as he walked towards her. She tried to step away but she fell down into the couch. He was just about to reach out for her when a loud bang made him stop in his tracks. He looked down himself to see blood pouring from his shoulder.

Abaddon turned around and saw Mulder lying on the floor, gun in hand. He pulled the trigger again this time managing a kill shot to the creature's forehead. Abaddon fell to the ground, dead.

Then everything went black for Mulder. He heard the sirens and the last thing he thought was: how did they know?

XxXxX

_6.54 am_

"Scully!" he woke up with her name on his lips, sitting straight up in the bed.

"I'm here, Mulder," he heard her voice coming from his left.

She was sitting next to him on the bed. She took his hand offering her comfort.

"What happened?" he asked but remembered as soon as the words had left his mouth. "Is Aidan okay?"

"He's fine," she nodded and looked down next to Mulder on the bed where Aidan was starting to wake up.

Mulder sighed in relief.

"We tried to get you to the hospital but you refused to leave," she told him.

He nodded, not remembering but agreeing with himself.

"I remember sirens," he said, rubbing his temples. "How did they know?"

Scully smiled and nodded down at Aidan.

"You?" Mulder asked in surprise. "But how?"

Aidan sat up and smiled. "I couldn't call the police because I didn't have a phone in my room," Mulder nodded not bothering to inform them that it wouldn't have helped anyway. "So I took my flashlight and flashed it at the windows on the building across the street. Finally someone opened their window and I showed them the piece of paper I had written."

"You're such a smart kid," Mulder said, he'd never been more proud of anyone in his entire life. "I'm very proud of you, Aidan."

Aidan smiled and sat up to give Mulder a hug. Mulder pulled him into his lap and hugged him close to him.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he told them, holding Aidan and looking Scully straight in the eyes.

"What did you write on the piece of paper, Aidan?" he asked after a few minutes of just holding him.

Scully took the note from their nightstand and showed it to him. It said: _Bad man has my mom and dad. Call 911._

Mulder looked at it for a long time, tears forming in his eyes. Dad?

"I'm sorry I said you weren't my dad, Mulder," Aidan said looking down. "It was my fault."

"What? No, of course it wasn't, Aidan!" Mulder instantly hugged him again. "Whatever happened wasn't anyone's fault except the bad man, okay? _He_ hurt us, not you!"

Aidan looked relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Okay," he said weakly.

"I love you very much, Aidan. Nothing can change that. It doesn't matter what you call me, as long as I know you love me too."

"I love you too," Aidan said and tears fell from his eyes. "Can you be my dad, Mulder?"

Mulder looked surprised to Scully who also had tears in her eyes.

"Yes," he said and kissed Aidan's forehead. "I would love to, Aidan."

Scully sat down next to Mulder and kissed his cheek as she took Aidan's hand.

Just then it hit Mulder how much he had and how close he'd come to losing it all. The thought hit him as sudden as lightening.

Before long Aidan fell asleep again. Mulder carefully tucked him into their bed and walked out of the bedroom with Scully.

"I'm sorry," he told her looking down to his fingers.

"Don't be," she smiled at him. "It wasn't your fault either, Mulder."

"If it wasn't for me… my work… you guys would have been okay."

"It… no, Mulder. If it wasn't for you he could have come here anyway and there'd be nobody to protect us!" she tried to reason with him.

"No," he shook his head. "He came because of me."

"We're alright now, Mulder," she tried taking his hand but he shook it off.

"I have to leave, Scully," he nearly whispered.

"You don't have to work today, Mulder, Skinner said so…"

"No," he interrupted her. "I have to leave you."

Scully's heart ached at his words and she felt tears spilling from her eyes.

"These five months we've been together, the 8 months I've known you - it's been the happiest time of my life, Scully," he looked her in the eyes for the first time while speaking but quickly looked away again as he saw her tears. "But last night made me realize, you're not safe with me."

"You're just gonna leave?" she yelled at him. "That's it? We'll never hear from you again? What about Aidan? He wants you to be his dad, Mulder! You promised him!"

"I'm gonna keep that promise," he said seriously. "I'll… I'll come by every weekend, if it's okay with you."

"No, it's not okay with me!" she hit him in the chest. "You idiot! You made me fall for you, Mulder. I love you! Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Of course it does," he sank, he couldn't stand hurting her but he knew she'd be safer like this. "That's why I'm doing this, Dana."

"Don't you dare," she sobbed and hit him again and again, her fists meeting his firm chest.

"I…" he was just about to tell her he loved her but thought it'd only make it harder. "I'll come get my things later."

He walked past her and out the door. She sunk down against the wall and cried her heart out.

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><p><strong>Wow. So much for being happy.<strong>

**What did you think about Abaddon?**

**Do you think Mulder's making the right decision?**


	12. It's Complicated

Chapter 12 - It's Complicated

_Scully's Apartment_

_May 19 1993, 12.02 pm_

"Hi," Mulder said awkwardly as he entered the apartment he use to call home.

"Hi," Scully nodded not looking at him as she let him in.

It had been nine days since Mulder had left her. This was the first time he came back. He'd talked to Scully over the phone a few times, mostly she'd been angry with him and he'd tried to get her to understand. Aidan had called him every day. Now, it was tough breaking Scully's heart, his own breaking along with hers, but telling Aidan he wasn't going to live with them anymore had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. Mulder had cried all night the day he'd told him. As he'd heard the little guy sob over the phone, he'd wanted nothing more than to give in and move back. But all he had to do was to think of that night with Abaddon and he was sure he'd made the right decision.

"Mulder!" Aidan exclaimed happily breaking the awkward silence that had emerged between the former lovers.

"Aidan!" Mulder said just as happy to see him.

Mulder picked the little guy up as he came running into his arms and hugged him tightly to his chest.

"I missed you," Aidan whispered.

"I missed you too, little guy," Mulder sighed and closed his eyes.

Scully couldn't help the smile forming on her lips at the scene between her two guys. Aidan had been so down lately because Mulder hadn't been around. Scully didn't want to see him but she'd agreed he could come over for Aidan. She missed him so much and hated him so much at the same time. She wanted nothing more than to hit him in the face but at the same time she felt like kissing him, holding him close to her, run her fingers through his hair, unbutton his light blue dress shirt, unbuckle his belt, unzip his grey dress pants and…

"Scully?" he interrupted her thoughts.

"Hm?" she accidentally looked him in the eyes and noticed how tired he looked, as if he hadn't slept for a week.

"I asked you if it was okay that I take Aidan swimming," he repeated himself, sinking as he noticed the sadness in her blue eyes.

"Yeah sure," she told him looking away from him quickly as she felt his green eyes gaze into her own. "I-I've made lunch though. If you want to eat before going?"

Aidan nodded eagerly at the thought of having lunch together as a family again.

"Oh…" Mulder was surprised she wanted him there a second longer than necessary. "Yes, of course. Thank you."

"No trouble," she shrugged and walked to the kitchen.

They were quiet while eating their lunch. The three of them were sitting around the small round table in the kitchen like they had so many times before. But it wasn't like before. Mulder didn't scoot closer to Scully to kiss her cheek and hold her hand like he use to. Scully's hand wasn't casually lying on Mulder's thigh. They weren't laughing.

"Mulder," Aidan finally broke the strangling silence. "Do you live in your old apartment now?"

"No," Mulder shook his head and smiled at him. "I sold that place when I moved here, Aidan."

"Then where do you live now?" he wondered.

"At a motel for the time being."

"You haven't found a new place yet?" Scully asked in surprise before she could stop herself.

"No," he shook his head, not meeting her eyes.

Scully felt hope bubble inside of her. She knew it probably just meant he'd been too busy with work to find a new place but some part of her was sure it was because a part of him still wanted to get back with his family.

"Mom!" Aidan got her attention. "Remember what grandma said?"

"Oh that's right," Scully sighed and turned to Mulder. "Ehm… she wants you to come over for dinner tomorrow."

"Me?" Mulder frowned. "Why?"

"I guess she wants to keep in touch," Scully shrugged. "Dad says he wants to talk to you as well."

"He did?" Mulder's eyes widened in shock.

"Are you scared of grandpa?" Aidan chuckled.

"No, of course not," Mulder lied.

"Are you coming then?" Aidan smiled.

"I… no, I don't think so," he wiped his mouth with a napkin as he'd finished his lunch.

"My dad really wants to speak to you," Scully told him. "He said he'd go to you if you didn't go along with this."

"Oh, man!" Mulder leaned back in his chair.

"I tried to talk him out of it," Scully shrugged not really feeling sorry for Mulder. "But he's not caving."

"Alright," Mulder sighed and sat up. "And I'm sorry, Scully."

"Sure you are," Scully said sarcastically as she got up and carried their plates to the sink.

Mulder felt his insides hurt at her rejection but he knew he deserved it. He looked over at Aidan who sat very quietly looking down into his lap. Mulder felt even worse.

"Do you want any help with…" Mulder began.

"No, it's fine. You better get going," she told him cold not even bothering to turn around when she spoke to him.

"Aidan, go get your swimwear and a towel, okay?" Mulder smiled at him.

"Okay," Aidan nodded and walked to his room.

"Scully, please look at me," Mulder pleaded with her, now standing right behind her. "I know this is hard but…"

"How do you know that?" she snapped turning around, forgetting she had tears in her eyes. "You're not here, Mulder! You're not the one who has to comfort him every night when he cries because he misses you. You're not the one he asks if you still love him."

"Scully," he spoke gently pulling her closer to him. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"I hate you," she whispered against his chest as she finally let her tears fall.

"Me too," he told her as he stroked her back.

"I really miss you, Mulder," she said as she clung to him.

"I miss you too, Scully," he said gently and kissed her in the hair.

She reached up and gave his neck a small kiss. It sent shivers down his spine and straight to his groin.

"Don't," he said but it came out as a groan.

"Mulder," she chuckled for the first time in 10 days.

"Sorry," he shook his head. "I guess I'm a bit sensitive."

"I only meant it as a thank you. I didn't try to… get a reaction, you know that right?" she asked as she stepped out of his embrace.

"I know," he nodded. "Sorry."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"I want to be your friend, Scully. We were friends before, can't we go back?"

"I don't know, Mulder," she shrugged. "It's hard when I want so much more. You're like a constant reminder of how good we were. How good it can be."

"I know it's not easy. It's not easy for me either! I mean, just giving you a hug and I'm practically there… but for Aidan, we could make it work, couldn't we?"

"I… yeah, of course. We can try at least," she nodded and smiled vaguely at him.

"Good," he smiled himself.

"Mulder?" Aidan had joined them and he seemed happy to find them in a good mood. "I'm ready."

"Great," Mulder smiled and picked the little guy up and twirled him around.

"Stop," he laughed. "Put me down."

Scully smiled at them and walked them out. She still wasn't happy but she wasn't as sad as she had been a few hours earlier.

"Will you ever come home again?" Aidan asked as they'd been driving in silence for a while.

"I'll visit," Mulder smiled at him. "And you can come see me when I find a new place."

"Don't you love us anymore?"

"Of course, Aidan. You know I love you very much."

"What about mom? I thought you fell in love? Can you fall out of love again?"

"I love your mom too, Aidan. It just didn't work out between us."

"But she loves you too, Mulder. She said so."

"She did?" Mulder changed his focus from the road for a second to look over at Aidan's serious expression.

"Yes. She said she didn't want you to leave and she cried and said she loved you so much. I was supposed to be asleep in my room but I heard her tell grandma."

"You shouldn't eavesdrop, Aidan."

"I know, sorry," he sighed.

Mulder once again felt bad for causing Scully so much pain. He really did love her. He only wanted her to be safe. Away from harm. He couldn't stand the thought of what might have happened that night with Abaddon, to Scully and Aidan, if he hadn't had the key to his handcuffs in his back pocket.

"Aidan, do you remember the bad man?" Mulder realized he hadn't talked to Aidan about the whole situation very much.

"Yes," he nodded. "I have nightmares about him sometimes."

"You do?" Mulder felt his heart rip. "What happens in the nightmares?"

"I don't really remember… I just remember being scared," he admits.

"He was very scary. You know, you can talk to me about it if something's bothering you, right, Aidan?"

"There is one thing…" Aidan trailed off.

"What is it, Aidan?" Mulder encouraged him when he didn't say anything else.

"He said… that-that he was going to do stuff to mom," he finally uttered. "Did he?"

"No, Aidan," Mulder said firmly. "I stopped him before he could do anything to your mom."

Aidan sighed relieved. "Good."

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_May 19 1993, 8.22 pm_

"C'mon, Aidan," Scully pleaded him. "You have to go to sleep now!"

"But I want a story," he said. "Just a short one. Pleeeease!"

"Alright," Scully caved. "I'll read you a small story."

"I want Mulder to read it!" Aidan smiled. "Will you, Mulder?"

He stepped into the room with a smile on his face.

"You're such a bad boy," he told Aidan and tickled him.

"No, Mulder," Aidan laughed.

"Mulder!" Scully scolded him. "He'll never sleep if you get him to laugh."

"Sorry," Mulder shrugged and lay down next to Aidan on the bed and began to read him his story.

Aidan moved closer to Mulder so he could see the pictures in the book while Mulder read.

Scully let them have some more time alone and went to the kitchen to clean up after dinner.

It wasn't long before Mulder joined her in the kitchen.

"Thank you, Scully," he told her and pulled her in for a hug.

"For what?" she chuckled and put her arms around his waist.

"For letting me see Aidan and spend time with you guys. I know you must hate me," he sighed.

"Of course I don't hate you…" she trailed off. "Well maybe a little bit."

They both chuckled. Her hot breath on his neck gave him chills.

"I-I should get going," he said and pulled out of the hug. "When's dinner tomorrow?"

"Ehm," she said a bit surprised at his sudden mood swing, one moment they were laughing the next he couldn't get away fast enough. "Five thirty, I think my mom said."

"Great, I'll be there," he nodded and moved to the door.

"Mulder wait!" she held onto his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Nothing's wrong!"

"Then why are you running from me?" she asked him and the hurt in her eyes was killing him.

"I…" he sighed. "I don't trust myself around you, Scully."

"Trust yourself?" she raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"A part of me still wants you, Scully. A big part even. And it's difficult being close to you because I really want to kiss you and hold you," he admitted, feeling his ears redden.

"Mulder," she took his hand. "Why are you doing this?"

"I know, I shouldn't have told you," he nodded, looking to his feet.

"That's not what I meant," she squeezed his hand. "Why are you trying so hard to convince yourself we shouldn't be together when you know we're meant for each other?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Scully. I love you and Aidan so much, you know that! If anything happened to you because of me… I couldn't live with that!"

"Mulder you can't let your fear control your life. Then Abaddon wins. Wasn't that what he was trying to do? To let fear win."

Mulder thought about what she was saying. A big part of him screamed for him to give in and get back to the way things had been. But he knew he couldn't do that.

"Maybe you're right, Scully. But I need time to think about this. I can't just move in and out of here every time I change my mind. I need to be sure; there can't be a seed of doubt! I've hurt you already; I know that, I don't want to do this to you again."

"So I should just wait for you until you make up your mind?" she pulled her hand out of his.

"No, of course not…" he stepped closer to her.

"What if I get tired of waiting for you, Mulder? What if I find someone else?"

Mulder felt incredible jealous at the mere thought of that happening.

"If you want to it's none of my business," he shrugged but she saw him cringe.

"What if I just want to have sex with someone? Can I have sex with another man, Mulder?"

"No," he answered quickly. "I mean yes, if you want to."

"Mulder," she sighed. "What about you? What if you find someone else? I don't think I could ever see you again if you were happy with someone else and then you'd never get to see Aidan and…"

"No," he interrupted. "I'm not going to find someone else, Scully. Never. No matter what."

"You say that now but…"

"Never, Scully," he said seriously taking her hand in his again. "Never."

She stood on her toes and kissed him. He was so surprised he didn't even stop her. He only groaned as her lips made contact with his and he pulled her close to him. He opened his mouth and let his tongue caress hers. He felt his cock harden as her nipples poked into his chest. Her small hands moved down his body to his dress pants and in a matter of minutes her hand was in his pants stroking his erection.

"Fuck," he muttered, breaking off their kiss. "Can't do this."

"Please, Mulder," she looked up at him with her big blue eyes. "Please, make love to me."

"Scully," he whined.

Her hand was still in his trousers but she wasn't moving it.

"Please," she whispered again and began kissing his neck.

"Mmh," he couldn't hold back a groan.

It didn't take them long to walk from the kitchen to the couch in the living room, losing all their clothes along the way.

Scully was straddling him in the couch as they were kissing passionately. His hands moved down from her neck, over her naked back to her butt. He gave it a good squeeze and moved his kisses down her neck.

She moaned his name and her appreciation while tugging on his hair, his wonderful messy hair.

His kisses moved even further down and he was sucking on her breast now. She couldn't hold back a surprised and excited squeal as he bit down on her nipple.

"Oh, God," she moaned.

He moved his hands from her butt to her hips and looked her in the eyes. Lust was written all over her face. He gave her a gentle kiss. She moved her hands to his shoulders and gave him a small nod. He looked down between the two of them and guided her down onto his hard cock. He bit his lip as he watched himself disappear inside of her. This had to be the most beautiful side in the world, he thought. She felt so amazing.

Scully watched him watch them. The way he bit his lip made her stomach flip-flop. It felt so good to have him inside of her. She could feel herself getting stretched as always, due to his size. He was all the way in now. He moved his hands to her breasts and sighed deeply as he fondled them. She rose off his cock and just as it was almost all the way out she lowered herself onto it again.

He lowered his hands to her hips again as she began moving faster up and down. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, her mouth slightly ajar. He couldn't get enough of her, she was so beautiful. He loved watching her breasts bounce, hearing her sweet little sounds he knew she only made for him. He could feel she was close but so was he. He moved his right hand down between them and found her swollen clitoris. He began circling it with his thumb and she moved even faster.

"Oh, God, YES!" she moaned. "God, Mulder, Mulder, mmh-YES!"

He watched in awe as she came on top of him and couldn't help his own bodily reaction to the feeling of her inner walls clenching around him as she climaxed.

She fell against his chest, their bodies slightly moist with perspiration, him still inside of her. She began kissing his chest and neck lazily. He loved it when she did that. He put his arms around her and held her as close to himself as possible.

Before he knew it she had fallen asleep. He noticed her skin wasn't as warm as just a few minutes ago and grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and pulled it over them. He told himself he'd just stay for a little while. Relish in the feeling of Scully all around him. And then he would wake her up and carry her to bed before going home. But before he'd even thought this thought to an end, he too was sleeping.

XxXxX

_May 20 1993, 7.54 am_

"Oh, God," she moaned as she woke up.

"Scully," he mumbled content, stroking her back under the blanket.

"Scully!" he then said in surprise as he realized what had happened. "Oh no!"

"Oh no?" she giggled against his neck. "Mulder you're hard inside of me, it's a bit late for: oh no."

And sure enough, he hadn't had time to pull out of her before he fell asleep, and as a result his morning wood was currently deep inside of Scully.

"I've never slept inside of someone before," he mumbled, trying not to laugh but failing.

"Well, I've never had someone sleep inside of me before either," she chuckled and kissed his neck.

"I still need to think about it, Scully."

"I know, Mulder," she said with another kiss. "I'm sorry if I made you do something you didn't want to. I hope you don't regret it too much."

"Don't worry about it, Scully," he chuckled. "I enjoyed it a lot if you didn't notice."

"I noticed," she smiled. "And I enjoyed it as well, Mulder."

"Oh, I noticed," he chuckled.

"Shut up," she giggled and kissed him again. "So do you want to make love one more time?"

"Scully," he downright laughed.

"In a sense we're already having sex, Mulder. All we need to do is move a bit," she looked up at him and smiled mischievously.

"You can be pretty persuasive, you know that?" he smiled back at her and leaned down to kiss her.

"Mmh, so I've been told," she told him and kissed him back.

"Mom?" Aidan's voice interrupted their kiss.

"Aidan!" Mulder and Scully said in surprise.

The blanket that had been covering them had fallen down to their waists. Luckily it was still covering the place they were connected and Scully's behind but it was pretty obvious they were naked together. Scully's chest was pressed against Mulder's and only the side of her breast was in view.

"You should go to your room, Aidan, and then we'll be right with you, okay?" Mulder said calmly.

Aidan just nodded and turned around.

"Shit," Mulder swore as soon as he'd left the room.

Scully raised herself from Mulder and sat down next to him on the couch.

"God, what are we gonna do, Mulder?" she asked covering her body with the blanket.

"Get dressed and go talk to him," Mulder sighed and got up from the couch.

Scully bit her lip and tried not to stare at his naked body as he put on his boxers. He grabbed her underwear and his dress shirt and gave it to her to wear. As he'd put on his undershirt and pants as well they both took a deep breath and walked to Aidan's room. Mulder knocked on his door.

"Can we come in, Aidan?" he asked him.

"Yes," Aidan answered and they walked in and sat down next to him on his bed.

"Were you making love?" Aidan asked his mother.

"Yes, Aidan," she told him honest and she could feel herself blush.

"Are you coming home?" he asked Mulder happily.

"No," Mulder gave him a small smile. "Your mom and I shouldn't have made love, Aidan. We're not a couple right now so we shouldn't have done that. But when two people love each other it can be hard to do the right thing."

Scully was impressed at how well Mulder had described how she had seduced him and happy he was such a good father, even though he technically wasn't one.

"I wish you could come back to live with us, Mulder," Aidan sighed.

"I can't right now, Aidan, I'm sorry," Mulder put his arm around him.

"Do you have any more questions for us, honey?" Scully took Aidan's hand.

"No, mom," he smiled at her.

"We love you, Aidan," Scully kissed his cheek.

"Very much," Mulder added and kissed his other cheek.

"I love you too," Aidan chuckled.

XxXxX

_Scullys' Residence _

_May 20 1993, 5.55 pm_

After having had their talk with Aidan Mulder had left to go home and shower and get a change of clothes and spend the day writing up a rapport for work. They'd agreed to go to Scully's parents in one car and he'd picked them up on his way. At the moment they were all eating around the dinner table in the dining room enjoying the great food Mrs. Scully had prepared for them.

"It tastes amazing, Mrs. Scully," Mulder smiled at the older woman, breaking the silence that had emerged.

"Thank you, Fox, I'm glad you like it," she smiled back.

"Mom, can I go watch TV? My show's on at 6," Aidan asked with a smile.

"You'll have to ask your grandparents, Aidan, this is their house," Scully smiled back.

"Can I, please?" he looked to Mr. Scully.

"Sure, Aidan," he chuckled; amused the little guy actually thought his grandpa might say no.

"Thanks, grandpa!" he grinned and ran to the living room.

"He seems to be taking the break-up rather well," Mrs. Scully commented.

Mulder and Scully looked at each other in surprise at her frank statement.

"Yes," Scully finally answered. "He's dealing with it nicely. He had some trouble at first but I think he understands that we both love him and always will no matter what."

"That's good," Mrs. Scully nodded.

As they finished dinner Scully disappeared into the kitchen with her mother. Mulder gulped as Scully's father got up from the table and nodded at Mulder to follow him. He stepped out on the porch to the back garden and sat down on the bench there. He padded the spot next to himself and Mulder took a seat next to him. Mr. Scully grabbed two beers from under the bench and handed one to Mulder.

Mulder carefully took a sip and waited to speak till he was spoken to. His heart was beating away in his chest.

"You hurt her," Mr. Scully said. "What happened, Mulder?"

"I know, Sir," he swallowed and took another sip of his beer. "I thought Dana had told you what happened."

"All she said was that there was some kind of hostage situation in your home. A guy from one of your cases."

"That's basically it. She didn't tell you he could have killed Dana and Aidan?" Mulder tried to speak calm but had a hard time doing so when speaking of that night.

"She did," he nodded. "But you stopped him."

"I… I got lucky," Mulder shrugged. "It could happen again, I'm doing this to protect them!"

"I know you think you're protecting them, kid," he lay a hand on Mulder's shoulder. "But they love you and if anything happened to them and you weren't there you'd feel just as bad. We can never know what the future holds, Mulder. All we can do is being with the ones we love and enjoy the time we have with them."

"You make it sound so easy…"

"It is easy," he cut Mulder off.

"No, it's not!" Mulder raised his voice slightly. "He… he would have raped them, Sir! Right in front of my eyes. Just to scare me before he killed them and me. Dana and Aidan… they could have been… because of me!"

Mr. Scully's eyes were widened in shock. "He didn't…" he began his voice shaky.

"He didn't get to lay a hand on either of them!" Mulder assured him.

The older man nodded. "I understand you, Mulder. I have a family of my own. Just… be sure, okay?"

"I'm not sure of anything anymore, Sir. The only thing I'm sure about is my love for your daughter and grandson."

"If you ever need to talk, Mulder, I'm here for you, okay?" Mr. Scully lay a hand on his shoulder.

"I was sure you were gonna kill me," Mulder chuckled. "For leaving her."

"The thought crossed my mind," he chuckled as well. "But I know you only do what you think is best for Dana."

"I do," Mulder nodded.

Meanwhile in the kitchen Scully was helping her mother clean up after dinner. A question had been nagging her the whole day. She needed to talk to someone about this.

"Mom?" she finally got out.

"Yes, honey?" she smiled at her daughter.

"Did… did one of us kids ever walk in on you and dad?" she could feel herself blush as she asked this.

"Yes," her mother grinned.

"Really?" Scully was surprised but glad it wasn't just her, nonetheless.

"Really. Did Aidan walk in on you and Fox?"

"Yeah…" Scully blushed again. "We explained to him that we were making love and I think he gets it, it's just… I'm afraid we've marked him for life!"

"He'll be fine, Dana," she chuckled. "This happens to a lot of kids. I'm sure you don't remember it any longer."

"Mom?" she said in shock. "Did I… you and dad?"

"Yes, honey," she grinned. "You thought your dad was hurting me."

"I did? Why would I think that? Dad's never been abusive in any way!"

"Of course he hasn't! It was just the fact that… he was on top of me, you know?" Mrs. Scully blushed as well.

"Oh," Scully didn't know what else to say.

"Aidan didn't worry about that?" Mrs. Scully wondered.

"Oh no, Mulder wasn't on top," Scully said without thinking, but blushed as soon as she'd said it.

"Well, that's probably for the better, honey," she shook her head. "Why did you wait so long to ask me?"

"What?" Scully was a bit confused.

"Why did you wait to ask me about this? You and Mulder haven't been together in a couple of weeks so it must have happened before then. You can always talk to me, Dana," Mrs. Scully frowned.

"Well," Scully blushed once again. "Actually it happened this morning."

"Dana!" Mrs. Scully said in surprise.

"It's just last night I really missed him and he'd just put Aidan to bed and I just… well," Scully shrugged and looked down.

"Dana Katherine Scully," her mother shook her head.

"I just kissed him, mom," she said still looking down. "And then we ended up on the couch somehow and…"

"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Scully chuckled. "I don't want a full summary."

"No, of course not!" Scully said horrified.

"I know you love him still, Dana, but you shouldn't engage in sex with a man you're not in a relationship with, no matter what."

"Well, that's not really your decision to make, mom," Scully grinned.

"Oh, Dana, please tell me you haven't done something like that often!" Mrs. Scully held a hand to her forehead.

"Of course not, mom," she chuckled but couldn't help teasing her Catholic mother a bit. "Not _often_."

"Oh dear."

* * *

><p><strong>I know this chapter was awkward situation upon awkward situation. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.<strong>

**What do you think Mulder will decide for their future? **

**And how soon do you think he'll make up his mind?**


	13. What Comes Next?

_Thanks to all who've reviewed and PM'd me. It's you people who make me want to write again._

_I'm really sorry it's been so long! I hope people will still read and review - your thoughts mean a lot to me._

* * *

><p>Chapter 13 - What Comes Next?<p>

_Carter Children's Medical Practice_

_June 12 1993, 12.05 pm_

Scully put her light summer coat on as she turned off the computer in her office. Normally she would have left for lunch already but there'd been an emergency at the clinic, a young boy with a severe stomach ache had come in with his dad. It turned out the toddler had been eating hand soap. As peculiar as that may sound it was something Scully had found to be quite common with young children. She suspected it was due to the sweet smell it had, of peaches or whatever, and she could smell it on the boy's breath instantly. As the crisis had been dealt with she could finally leave to go have lunch - it'd been a busy morning and she'd had to settle for a banana for breakfast. Her stomach was literally rumbling.

She was making her way towards the door when it opened and a hurt Mulder tumbled into her office.

"Mulder?" she gasped in surprise, instantly helping him sit down in her chair.

"Scully," he sighed in relief. "You're here."

"What happened to you, Mulder? Who did this to you?" she cried out as she checked his injuries.

He looked horrible. His white t-shirt was stained with blood under his leather jacket and he had dirt on his clothes as well. His hair was greasy and dirty as well and his face was covered in sweat and blood coming from his eyebrow and lip. Somebody had obviously hit him in the face, blue marks as well as the blood revealed that much.

"Mulder!" she said anxiously. "Answer me!"

"Shot…" he mumbled as he tried to keep his eyes open.

Scully's heart skipped a beat. She immediately helped him out of his jacket and grabbed a pair of scissors from her desktop and cut open his t-shirt. Sure enough his shoulder was smeared in blood and Scully could clearly see the wound the blood ran out of him from. She checked the back of his shoulder and saw a similar wound. The bullet had gone all the way through, thankfully, and didn't seem to have hit any arteries. The bleeding still needed to be stopped though.

"You need to go to a hospital, Mulder," she said trying to stop the bleeding with his torn up t-shirt.

"No!" he widened his eyes.

"Mulder…" she shook her head at him but he interrupted her.

"He'll find me, no hospital. Please. No, Scully," he rambled, grabbing her coat in plead.

"Okay," she sighed. "But we can't stay here, Mulder. People are gonna come back from lunch soon and I'm sure they won't understand why you can't go to a hospital. We need to get to my car so I can take you home, okay?"

"No," he shook his head again. "Not there… Aidan… no!"

"Mulder, it's your only choice," she was getting frustrated with him. He could die, didn't he get that?

"My room," he panted, fighting to stay conscious. "The motel."

Scully would rather have him home but knew better than to argue with him at this moment. She picked up a few things from one of the cabinets in her office and threw them into her purse and helped him up and out of the building. She held his weight and felt how she got smeared with his blood. Her heart was racing.

"My car," Mulder mumbled as they made it to the parking lot behind the building where the staff parked.

"You drove here?" Scully asked in shock.

"Yes. Take my car," he panted.

Scully had noticed he had more and more difficulty staying conscious and decided to just do what he said.

She maneuvered him into the backseat of his car and drove off in a hurry. She knew which motel he was staying at, it was usually a 15-20 minute drive from the clinic. Scully made the drive in less than 10 minutes. She was talking to Mulder all the time, forcing him to stay conscious.

She parked right in front of the door to his room. She went around and got the key out of his pocket. As she had unlocked the door to his room she ran back to the car and got Mulder out. He was harder to maneuver now; she basically carried all his weight. He groaned in pain as she dropped him to the bed, she tried to be gentle but he was too heavy. She ran to the car again and got her purse before running back to Mulder, locking the door to the motel room behind her.

Somehow Scully made Mulder sit up so she could clean his wound and put a clean towel she'd sterilized with boiling water under him. She stitched up the wound at the back of his shoulder first and then the one above his chest. She'd given him painkillers but knew they weren't strong enough to block out his pain. Finally she took care of his split lip and eyebrow. He was unconscious as she was done stitching him up. She changed the towel beneath him with a new sterilized one and threw the bloody one in the hamper. She'd managed to stop his bleeding and his pulse was stable, still racing slightly, but slowing down.

She sighed in relief as she sat down in a chair next to the bed. Her eye caught a familiar picture of herself and Aidan at Mulder's nightstand. It made her smile and remember something. She dialed her mother and asked her to take Aidan home. She was only suppose to watch him till Scully came home from work but she figured Mulder would need her for at least a few days. She simply told her mother that Mulder needed her help and that she would call later. Then she called work and lied about a family emergency that needed her immediate attention.

XxXxX

_Manners' Motor Lodge_

_June 13 1993, 8.20 am_

"Scully?"

His scared voice in the dark room awoke Scully from her slumber.

"Yes, Mulder, I'm right here," she told him turning on the light so he could see her, still sitting in the chair next to his bed.

"Scully," he said in relief and reached out for her hand.

She took it and caressed it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him sweetly.

"Better," he smiled at her before turning serious. "I'm sorry I…"

"Don't apologize, Mulder," she cut him off. "Not for this."

"Not for this?" he seemed puzzled. "What for then?"

"For getting shot," she sighed and squeezed his hand. "I don't wanna loose you, Mulder."

She felt tears in her eyes as she whispered the last part.

"Scully, you're incredible, you know that? You won't let me apologize for putting you in danger - you worry more about me than I do."

"You should worry more about yourself, Mulder!" she says, her words serious but spoken softly. "You mean everything to Aidan and me. We love you."

"I know," he sighs. "I… I do love you too. Both of you."

"Then come home, Mulder! Please! This month without you… only seeing you once a week when you come over to spend time with Aidan… it's killing me!"

"I… it's not that simple, Scully," he says pulling his hand out of hers. "I live a dangerous life, my work…"

"Okay," she cut him off standing up from her chair. "We don't need to discuss this now."

She went around the bed and sat down next to him on the bed pulling his covers off.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm checking your wounds," she informs him as she removes the bandages.

He winces as she pokes and prods.

"Don't be such a baby, Mulder," she teases him.

"Can't you be a bit more careful?" he wonders out loud. "That hurts!"

"Getting shot should hurt, Mulder. Otherwise how would you learn to be more careful?"

"I was being careful…" he says unconvincing.

"What happened?" she asks knowingly, able to figure out he probably could have taken better care of himself.

"I was following a lead," he tells her.

Before he can say anything else she asks him: "Did you ditch your partner again?"

Referring to the partner Mulder was assigned a few weeks back.

"No…" he says sounding guilty. "Agent Willmore had to attend his daughter's birthday party."

"And you couldn't wait a day?"

"Well, our suspect would have gotten away…"

"And you wouldn't have been shot!"

"But I nearly caught him, Scully, I…"

"Mulder, you're stupid!" she was angry now. "Does Agent Willmore even know you were following up on this lead?"

"No… I told him about it but he said it would have to wait…"

"But you couldn't wait, could you? You just had to have your way and go right away. Not thinking about anyone but yourself," she had gotten up from the bed now and was walking around, pacing the floor in the motel room. "You know, Mulder, you moved out and broke up with me to keep me from harm but the thing that would hurt me the most is losing you! And I did lose you, when you left. You're not with me anymore, I miss you every day, I'm miserable, I can't stop thinking about you. But at least I know you're still there for me in some way. I know you'd come if I said I needed you, that you'd do anything for me and Aidan… that's the only thing that keeps me going. Knowing I still have that part of you. And you're willing to risk that for some lead? Because you can't wait one day? You know what, Mulder? I hate you sometimes, I really do!"

And with that she stormed out of the room. Mulder felt even worse than when he'd been shot. He took a deep breath, hating himself for everything he'd put Scully through. He had a woman who loved him and wanted to share her life with him. An amazing woman, who wanted to be with him? Spooky Mulder. Who worked in the basement and believed in little green men… but of course he'd had to ruin that as well as every other good thing in his life. She hated him. She'd walked out on him.

He looked around the room and saw she hadn't brought any of her things. Maybe she'd just been too angry. Maybe she was coming back. He tried to sit up in the bed but felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, making him groan and wince. Oh yeah, he'd been shot. He regretted it all now. Of course he'd felt obliged to follow the vague lead. As every other lead he'd thought it might lead to his sister. He closed his eyes and sighed. Was he ever going to find her? Was he ever going to forgive himself? Was he ever going to give up? No, he would definitely never give up. But Scully was right, he could be more careful. If he'd just taken a moment and thought it all through. It seemed stupid really. He realized the anonymous tip regarding the case about missing girls he'd been working on had probably been the suspect himself tipping him off. That would explain the way he'd known he was coming and had attacked him. He'd been waiting for him, he'd set him up.

The suspect had gotten away though. And Mulder had been severely injured. How he'd managed to get to his car and drive his way through town to Scully was a blur to him. All he knew was that the man worked at a hospital and that he'd had access to several as he'd picked up the missing girls from hospitals. Mulder couldn't go there; the man would find him and kill him he was sure. The only thing he could think about was Scully - he knew she would help him, he trusted her.

Mulder loved his family. And by family he meant Scully and Aidan. He remembered the short time they'd been truly happy together. He felt like the most ungrateful douche ever to have had that and then given it up so easily. Of course he'd been through a terrible ordeal, coming close to losing them. But he hadn't lost them until he'd walked out that door. He'd hurt them. He'd tried to protect them but he hadn't. He felt truly miserable as he realized how immensely he'd managed to screw up the only good thing in his life.

XxXxX

_Manners' Motor Lodge_

_June 13 1993, 9 am_

She was standing outside the motel room, having a cigarette. She'd luckily had some cash in her pocket and had bought a pack of the kind of cigarettes she use to steal from her mother's purse when she was much younger. In college she use to smoke at parties and after sex but when she'd found out she was pregnant she'd quit. She'd never felt addicted, she'd just enjoyed having a smoke sometimes. She wasn't enjoying this cigarette, however. It was a stress relieve. She was so frustrated with Mulder. At times like this she wished she'd never met him. Then she wouldn't have known what she was missing now.

She'd told him she hated him. It was true. She did hate him. And she'd walked out on him as he needed her the most. Served him right for doing the same thing to her. She inhaled another puff of smoke and enjoyed the small high from the nicotine she'd missed for so many years.

She had to go back in. She knew that. She just needed a small break from him. Needed to make him suffer a bit. Being shot wasn't enough punishment for his foolishness. He needed the emotional down as well. She had no intention of leaving him when he needed her like this. She would go back in and take care of him. But she'd had to let him know how she felt. She needed to slam the door in his face. He deserved it.

As she'd finished the cigarette she sighed and stuffed the rest of the pack in her pocket. She'd need it if she was going to take care of him. She sighed deeply and opened the door to Mulder's motel room.

She felt slightly guilty for leaving him as soon as she saw the look of regret and hurt in his eyes but she wasn't going to let him know that. He had deserved it after all.

"Scully, I'm so…" he began but she cut him off.

"Don't talk to me right now, Mulder!" she told him, not being rude in her tone but not nice either.

He nodded eagerly, trying to tell her he'd be good.

She went over to him and sat down next to him on the bed. She saw the hope spark in his eyes but disappear as she checked out his wounds again. She hadn't had time to redress them earlier so she did that now. As the bullet wounds were tended to she moved to his split lip and eyebrow. The lip hadn't been too bad and she hadn't needed to stitch it but the eyebrow had needed a couple of stitches. All in all he appeared to be healing well though.

"Scully, please talk to me," he begged of her.

She couldn't stand the need in his voice, couldn't stand causing him pain.

"All things considering, you're doing okay, Mulder," she said not looking him in the eyes, knowing he hadn't meant for her to talk to him as his doctor.

"Good," he smiled weakly. "That's good."

She nodded and went about cleaning up the room. Mulder wasn't as tidy here as he'd been when living with her and it showed in the small motel room.

A few hours later Scully went out to get some supplies. She had another cigarette before driving to the market and another one before entering the motel room again.

"Oh, thank God, I was getting worried, Scully!" he sighed when she got back and started unloading the bags with groceries in the small kitchen adjoining the room.

"I wasn't gone that long," she shrugged.

"No, I know. But I heard the car pull up like 10 minutes ago…" he trailed off when she didn't answer him. "Did you call someone in the car?"

"No," she simply stated, opening the pantry and stuffing it with cans and bags. "But I should call my mother again."

"Okay," he simply said, wondering what she was hiding from him.

"You should rest, Mulder," she sighed. "How do you feel? Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Nah it's fine," he said and closed his eyes.

"You must be feeling some discomfort, Mulder - you need to tell me so I know what's going on with you!" she was getting agitated with him once more.

"Well, it's not bad, Scully, I promise," he opened his eyes again to assure her.

"Define: not bad!" she sat down next to him in the chair.

"It's just kind of… well, throbbing. But that's normal, right? I mean; I was shot, it should hurt some."

"Has the throbbing gotten worse?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I think it's a bit worse than when I woke up. Not much."

"I gave you a shot to ease the pain last night when you were out, Mulder. The effect is probably wearing off," she told him as she dug a syringe out and prepped it. "Can you turn over on your own or do you need my help?"

"Turn over?" his eyes widened.

"Yes," she simply stated, no emotions to be read on her face.

"You're gonna shoot that into my ass?"

"Mulder, don't be such a baby," she sighed. "You won't feel a thing!"

"It's not that…" he defended himself and quickly turned over, resting on his good shoulder. "It just surprised me!"

They both knew he was lying, he hated needles, he'd told her so many times. But he needed to keep a brave face, and she for one could understand where he was coming from, so she said nothing.

"There you go," she told him as she had finished.

He turned back to lay on his back again and felt the effect of the injection immediately.

"You'll feel drowsy soon, that's normal," Scully told him, he could only nod as he drifted off.

XxXxX

_Manners' Motor Lodge_

_June 13 1993, 2.46 pm_

He'd been out for a few hours when he came to again. He felt disorientated for a small moment before remembering where he was and why he was there.

"Scully," he sighed.

"Yes?" she answered him from the chair next to his bed where she was reading a magazine.

He hadn't realized he'd said her name out loud, he could feel his ears turn red in embarrassment. She was always the first thing he thought of when he woke up.

"Hi," he simply said and smiled at her.

"Hi," she couldn't help the laugh from escaping her throat.

He felt accomplished - he'd made her smile again!

"We need to talk," he told her.

"About what, Mulder?" the smile had left her face again.

"I'm sorry, Scully…" he felt tears threatening to spill. "I-I'm just so sorry!"

She moved from the chair to the edge of the bed, taking his hand.

"You should be," she sighed. "You have to take better care of yourself, Mulder. I know accidents happen but you could at least try to be careful, couldn't you?"

"That's not what I meant," he shook his head slightly. "Although I am sorry for that as well."

"What do you mean?" she knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

"I'm sorry I left," he said looking deep into her ice blue eyes with his green ones. "I love you, Scully. I love you and I love Aidan. And I hurt you. I walked out on you when you needed me. I ruined everything, I'm so sorry."

The tears were spilling from his eyes now. He'd finally seen reason, she thought. But she hated to see him like this. When he was in pain so was she.

"Mulder," she sighed and smiled down at him as she wiped his tears off his cheeks. "I'm glad you finally realize what a big mistake you've made."

"I do," he nodded. "I ruined everything."

"I wouldn't say everything, Mulder," she combed her hand through his hair.

"I would," he closed his eyes and enjoyed her touch.

"Why?" she wondered.

"I finally had something good in my life, Scully. I had what I hadn't even dared dream of having - a family. A woman who loved me and the most amazing boy in the world looking up to me and counting on me. And I let you both down. I walked out on you! How's that not ruining everything?"

"Mulder, I don't think it's too late to make up for your mistakes. You know Aidan will always love you and…"

"But, Scully," he interrupted her. "You deserve it all! You deserve to be in love and have a family of your own. You deserve that one guy who can make it all better, who will do everything for you and Aidan."

"I thought you might be that guy, Mulder," she chuckled - had this man no idea what he meant to her?

"But…" he looked as confused as he'd ever been. "You hate me."

"Mulder," she couldn't help downright laughing at him. "Of course I hate you. Sometimes. You're both the person I love the most and the person who has the best ability to piss me off."

"You… you love me?" he seemed in shock.

"Yes," she smiled and caressed his cheek.

"And… you're still in love with me? Even now, after all I've done?"

"Yes."

"Scully," he smiled the brightest smile he'd ever had on his face. "Do you still want me?"

"Of course I still want you," she chuckled again. "I've always wanted you, Mulder."

"I don't deserve you," he said sincerely.

"But I deserve you, Mulder."

"You deserve so much more."

"More than the man I'm in love with and want to spend the rest of my life with? A man who loves me back, a man who was willing to give up everything we had together because he thought it'd keep me safe?"

"I shouldn't have left," he said with so much remorse in his voice it stung Scully's heart.

"No, you shouldn't. It was the stupidest thing you could do. But I know you did it out of love - I don't understand your reasoning but I know you thought it was for the best. That it was for Aidan's and my best."

"It wasn't, I know that now. But at the time it was the only option I had in my head. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize anymore, Mulder. You're forgiven."

"I love you so much, Scully. Kiss me?"

She bends down and kisses him at the side of his mouth where his lip wasn't split. It was a gentle and sweet kiss but she didn't let her lips linger long on his.

"Scully!" he whimpered as she moved away from his mouth.

"Mulder, I don't want to hurt you," she explained.

For a second he'd forgot all about which condition he was in.

"It's alright, I don't mind!"

"You're incorrigible," she shook her head. "Besides; I'm not gonna be as easy this time!"

"What do you mean?"

"I forgive you, Mulder, I do. But I don't trust you right now."

He felt like he'd been shot again. And right in the gut this time.

"Let me explain, Mulder," she took his hand and tried to soothe him as she saw how deep those words had hurt him. "It all went so fast the last time. We became lovers so suddenly. And not long after you moved in. I don't think either of us really considered it much. You never considered the possibility that the darkness from your work might intrude on our happy life together. Instead you were faced to confront it when you were hurting the most. When you were scared for me and Aidan. When harm had been close to strike us. I know you'd still feel guilty even if you had come to terms with the fact that something like that could happen to us before it did - even though you have no reason to feel like that - but you wouldn't have freaked out so badly. We'd have worked our way through it. It was the first real complication we had but I don't think it'll be the only one. I need to know for sure you'll never run off again if something happens."

"I won't!" he promised her.

"And I want to believe that, Mulder, I really do. But I can't right now. I want to so badly! I want to take you back and I want things to be like they were before all of this happened. But I need to trust you again. It's not a choice I can make for myself, you'll have to prove yourself in some way."

"How?" he asked eagerly. "I'll do anything, Scully!"

"I know you will but it's not as simple as that. I don't know what it will take, Mulder. I just know I can't let you in again if I don't trust you with my heart anymore."

He understood perfectly. And of course she was right. He realized once more how badly he'd screwed up. But he also realized the truth in Scully's words. They had moved too quickly, neither of them had considered the consequences other than the fact they'd be together. He needed to woo her. He hadn't done so properly the last time but this time he would.

"I understand," he sighed and smiled. "We'll do things the right way this time, Scully."

"The right way?" she grinned.

"We'll take small steps. And not just jump into bed together and take it from there."

"I don't regret anything we've done together, Mulder. I was so happy with you, you made me happy."

"And I will again," he promised lifting her hand up to kiss her palm. "I love you, Scully."

"I know, Mulder."

* * *

><p><em>I wasn't too sure about this chapter at first. But after reading it through it feels okay to me. What do you think? <em>:-)


	14. Back on Track

Chapter 14 - Back on Track

_J. Edgar Hoover Building_

_June 20 1993, 9 am_

"Agent Mulder," Willmore greeted him as he entered their shared office in the basement that Thursday morning. "I didn't expect you back so soon."

"Good morning, Agent Willmore," Mulder simply said not looking up from the file in hand.

Mulder was yet to decide whether he trusted Craig Willmore or not. He hadn't done anything to make Mulder mistrust him but he had only been his partner for a bit over a month. Willmore didn't believe in the paranormal like Mulder, he sought a scientific explanation and did things by the rules.

"Is that a new case?" he inquired Mulder as he sat down in the chair on the other side of Mulder's desk.

"Crop circles in New Mexico," Mulder muttered.

"You can't be serious?" Willmore sighed. "You just came back after being shot and you wanna go to New Mexico to look at crop circles?"

"No, I don't think this will need our immediate attention. Here; read for yourself," he handed him the file.

Willmore's eyes were widened in surprise as he took the file from his partner's hand.

"Is something wrong?" Mulder held back a laugh.

"No-no, of course not," Willmore shook his head and started reading.

As he was done they discussed the case and concluded that it was most likely the work of teenagers rather than extraterrestrial spaceships.

"So you won't believe anything?" Willmore asked gingerly after a few minutes of silence.

"Of course not," Mulder smiled and shook his head.

Willmore seemed relieved at his reaction. Mulder realized he'd probably never smiled at him before. He felt bad all of a sudden; he hadn't made this partnership easy on Willmore. He hadn't chosen to work with Mulder, he'd been assigned to him, which Mulder was pretty sure had been against his will.

"So how did your daughter's birthday party go?" he asked him, making Willmore eyebrows shoot to his hairline.

"It was good," he nodded. "My ex-wife even talked to me."

"You're divorced?" Mulder asked, suddenly embarrassed at how little he'd asked about Willmore's personal life.

"Yes I am. I made some mistakes. Barbara couldn't forgive me. I'm lucky she still lets me see Elizabeth really."

"That bad, huh?" Mulder leaned back in his chair and smiled at his partner in sympathy.

"Yeah, that bad," he nodded.

They were quiet for a while. And for the first time since he'd been assigned with his new partner he felt like they had connected.

"What about you, Agent Mulder? Anyone special in your life?" Willmore seemed nervous to ask this question.

"Well," Mulder sighed. "That's a very simple question but I'm afraid the answer isn't quite as simple."

"Complicated?"

"Yes, a bit complicated. I met her and we became friends. Then we were something more than friends. And then I moved in with her."

"That doesn't sound complicated," Willmore shrugged.

"Oh, I'm getting there," Mulder ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "She has a son, an amazing kid. And we were really happy together, the three of us. But then I screwed up. I overreacted and thought I was putting them in danger by having them in my life, because of the x-files, so I moved out."

"What?" Willmore exclaimed.

"Exactly," Mulder shook his head. "But at that time I couldn't see any other way of keeping them safe. I still went by once a week. Took the kid out, told him it wasn't his fault, and that I loved him very much. Eventually I realized what a big mistake I'd made though. Not until after she'd told me she hated me for what I'd done."

"That's tough," Willmore shook his head.

"I told her how I felt. That I was sorry. That I'd never meant to hurt her. And she forgave me."

"Wow," Willmore said in surprise.

"Yeah, well she's amazing," Mulder couldn't keep the smile off his lips. "But I still have a lot of things to prove. We're kinda starting over. We've decided to… well…"

Mulder couldn't find the word.

"Date?" Willmore filled in his blank.

"Yeah," Mulder chuckled. "I guess."

Mulder was in shock at his own honesty. He'd never imagined telling anyone about these things. But he had to admit it felt nice to get it off his chest.

The two agents went back to work and the atmosphere in the small office seemed to have gone from dark to light. They went out to lunch together and Willmore told him about his daughter. She'd turned 3 last week and her name was Elizabeth. They were called to Skinner's office as they returned to the office and updated him on their work. Skinner seemed pleased that the two agents seemed to get along better and praised them for putting in an effort regarding their partnership. At 5 Willmore usually left and today so did Mulder. He'd promised Scully to take it easy and to come over to her apartment after work for dinner and a checkup.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_June 20 1993, 5.24 pm_

"Hello," Scully let him in as he'd knocked on her door.

"Hello, beautiful," he greeted her back and enveloped her in a hug, his arm around her, holding her close to him.

"Mulder," she sighed and put her arms around his neck.

After a long moment of this they broke apart. He looked her in the eyes and smiled, his hands still on her hips.

"I love the way you say my name," he told her.

"Mulder?" she asked him teasingly.

"Mmh," he closed his eyes and fought the tightening of his pants.

"Don't get too carried away," she chuckled. "Aidan's been looking forward to seeing you all day."

"He has?" Mulder opened his eyes again.

"Yep, ever since I told him when I picked up from school."

"Is he in his room?"

"Yes," Scully smiled at him.

As Mulder went to say hello to Aidan Scully went back to the kitchen.

Mulder hadn't seen Aidan last weekend since he'd still been recovering from his accident. He'd really missed the little guy.

"Hi, Aidan," he smiled as he opened the door.

"Mulder!" Aidan exclaimed and got up from the floor where he was coloring in a book.

The little guy jumped into Mulder's arms and clung to him.

"Wow," Mulder chuckled, surprised at his enthusiasm.

It hurt Mulder's shoulder a little but feeling Aidan's love pour out from him as they embraced made it all worth it.

"I missed you, little guy," he told him stroking his back.

"I missed you too, Mulder!" he said and moved his head back to look up at Mulder.

Mulder smiled down at the little red-haired boy in his arms, smiling up at him with his beautiful blue eyes.

"Are you feeling better? Mom said you were sick and that's why you couldn't come see me."

"Yes, I'm much better now, Aidan," he told him still holding him in his arms.

They heard Scully call for them that dinner was ready.

"Good, I'm hungry like a wolf!" Mulder said and grinned.

"Me too!" Aidan smiled and put his arms around Mulder's neck.

Mulder walked to the kitchen with Aidan hoisted on his hip as the little guy told him about something that had happened in school.

"Mulder!" Scully exclaimed as she saw them, shocking both Aidan and Mulder.

"What?" Mulder asked her in surprise.

"Put Aidan down right now!"

Mulder put Aidan down and looked puzzled up at Scully.

"Mulder, you're still not well! You shouldn't be carrying anything let alone another human being!" she scolded him.

"Scully, it's fine," he chuckled as he realized she was concerned about his gunshot wound.

"I'm your doctor, Mulder; I'll decide what you can and can't do!"

"Okay, sorry," Mulder said in defeat as he sat down at the table.

Aidan sat down next to him while Scully carried the food to the table.

"Guess I got told off, didn't I?" Mulder whispered to Aidan who chuckled in response.

"What are you laughing at?" Scully asked them as she sat down at the table as well, more calm now.

"Oh, nothing," Mulder said and winked at Aidan who held a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't laugh out loud.

"Boys," Scully shook her head and began putting some food on their plates.

As they'd finished dinner they all helped clean up the kitchen. Scully was putting the last things away as Mulder picked up Aidan and started tickling him.

"No!" Aidan erupted with laughter.

"Was that a yes?" Mulder asked him as he continued to tickle him as he carried him into the living room.

"No, Mulder! Stop!" he couldn't control his own laughter now as Mulder continued his attack.

"Oh no, I can't stop," Mulder said as he sat down in the couch, Aidan ending up in his lap.

"Yes you can!" Aidan said through tears of laughter.

"Can I?" Mulder asked still tickling his sides and under his arms. "How?"

"Mulder, stop!" Aidan giggled.

"Mulder!" Scully scolded him again making him stop immediately. "You shouldn't do that!"

"Oh, right," Mulder nodded, his shoulder did throb a little now. "Sorry."

Aidan sat up in Mulder's lap. At Scully's gaze telling Mulder to stop risking to hurt himself, Mulder moved Aidan to his right leg so he could lean back against his right shoulder, that way Aidan didn't come in contact with his bad shoulder. Scully nodded her approval and sat down next to them on the couch.

After watching a movie on the telly it was time for Aidan to go to bed. Mulder got him to brush his teeth and put on his pajamas.

Mulder went to read him a story before bed but when he didn't come out Scully went to check on him. He'd fallen asleep in Aidan's bed. Aidan was using his one arm for a pillow and his other hand was holding the book he'd been reading from which now lay on his stomach. Scully smiled and turned off some of the light in the room.

She had expected Mulder to wake up soon but as she curled up on the couch in the living room to read a few chapters in her book he didn't join her. She lost track of time as she turned the pages in her crime novel and before she knew it, she was yawning and felt her eyes sting with exhaust. She put her book down and went to the bathroom to change into her blue silk pajamas, brush her teeth and clean her face.

Before she went to bed she checked on Aidan and Mulder. They were both sleeping soundly in Aidan's small bed. She smiled at the sight of Mulder's long legs hanging over the edge of the bed.

XxXxX

_June 21 1993, 2.02 am_

"Scully," she was awoken by his whisper.

"Scully," he whispered a little louder.

"Mulder?" her voice was raw from sleep. "Is Aidan-"

He cut her off; "Aidan is fine, he's still sleeping."

"Oh. Good," she noticed that Mulder wasn't standing by her bed as she had first assumed - he was sitting by the foot end.

"You didn't wake me," he stated.

"You looked comfortable," Scully sat up in her bed, scooting backwards to sit against the headboard of the bed.

"I guess I was. I really missed him."

Scully nodded, but realized he couldn't see her in the dark. She reached out to her nightstand and turned on her bedside lamp. She looked at Mulder who shut his eyes closed at the sudden light in the room, albeit soft as it was. He was still wearing the dress pants and shirt he'd worn to work but his tie was long gone, and his sleeves were rolled up and the top three buttons in his shirt undone. His hair was messy, sticking out in the back from sleeping. Scully noticed the familiar burn in her stomach that came with being close to Mulder.

"I didn't get to examine you before you fell asleep," she said quietly.

She had never used her medical degree as an excuse to getting someone out of their clothes before and even though she was slightly concerned about Mulder's wound, she had to be honest with herself; mostly she just wanted to touch his bare chest.

"Right," Mulder nodded and started to undo his shirt buttons, standing up from the foot end of the bed where he'd been sitting. Scully stood up as well, and cleared her side of the bed for Mulder to sit down where she'd been sleeping a few minutes prior.

She turned around to watch him as he winced, trying to lift his undershirt over his head.

"Here," she took a hold of his arms. "Let me help you with that."

She ignored his sharp intake of breath as her fingers grazed his sides while she lifted the garment up and over his head. She knew him. It wasn't because of his injury he'd made that sound. He wasn't hurting. Quite the opposite. The feel of touching his firm skin, his muscles rippling under her fingers, affected her too.

"Sit down," she told him calmly, surprised at how she managed to keep her cool, when her insides screamed for her to jump on him.

He nodded and sat down where she'd sat, resting against the headboard as well. He seemed surprised as she straddled his legs but he didn't say anything. She knew she didn't need to, in order to check his wound. She could sit beside him as she had this past week she'd been looking after him. But she couldn't stop herself.

She carefully removed his bandage. He was healing nicely.

"Are you gonna put a new bandage on?" he asked her, grabbing the sheets in his fists, stopping himself from grabbing her hips and moving her to sit in his lap instead of over his knees.

"No, you don't need it anymore. It's looking real good, Mulder."

"Good. I'm glad," he sighed relieved.

"Were you worried?" she asked him sweetly, her hand still on his shoulder.

"A little. I know I shouldn't have held Aidan earlier. But he ran into my arms, and I didn't think. Later when I picked him up I'd just forgot again. It did hurt a bit afterwards."

Scully sighed and let her other hand rest on his other shoulder.

"I know you don't do it on purpose, Mulder. But you need to be careful. I… I don't want you to hurt."

"I'm trying, Scully. I really am," he assured her.

He looked down to see his hands on her hips. She was still sitting too far away from him but he was touching her. He bit his lower lip as he tried to will the blood in his body not to rush to his groin.

Scully's whole body felt hot as she his hands were on her hips. When he bit his lower lip she was done for. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep herself from him much longer. She had to get him out of her bedroom right now.

"Mulder," she had meant to ask him if he wanted to sleep on the couch instead of driving home in the middle of the night - but his name came out as a moan on her lips.

His eyes snapped to hers and he saw the lust and desire she held for him there. She wanted him, he could tell. He knew her, he knew her body and how it reacted to him. He knew if he moved her over his erection they would make love tonight. Or if he simply told her he loved her. But he didn't want to if she wasn't ready. They'd agreed to take it slow this time. It was hard at the moment though. Even though she was wearing a less than formfitting pajamas it was clear she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I want you, Scully," he told her, his voice rough. "But if it's too soon, I understand."

"Oh God," she sighed and closed her eyes. "I want you too, Mulder. But I'm not sure."

"I know, Scully. I can feel you're holding back."

"Why did you come, Mulder?"

"What do you mean?" he asked his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why did you come to my bed tonight? You could have gone home or to the couch but you came in here. Why?"

"I just wanted to tell you I was going home…" he looked down, his hands falling from her hips.

"Mulder," she sighed, squeezing his shoulders lightly. "Why?"

"Well, at the moment I really was just going to tell you I was going home. But looking back now; I… I guess I missed you. How you feel. How we feel together. I wanted to make love to you."

She was a bit stunned at his admission. She'd known. Of course she'd known. Since the moment he woke her up she'd known why he was here. But hearing him say those things.

She got up from the bed and had to bite back a laugh at the disappointed expression Mulder tried to hide. But as she locked the door his eyes widened.

"Aidan doesn't know to knock anymore," she told him as she walked back to the bed.

Mulder didn't know what to say so he kept quiet and nodded instead. She straddled him again. This time she wasn't sitting on his knees but on his thighs. His hands took a hold of her hips and pulled her even closer. He was looking into her beautiful blue eyes. Her pupils were dilated. She was aroused as well obviously. He noticed her cheeks flush red as her center came in contact with his erection. Even through their clothes he could feel her warmth as she could feel his hardness.

She moved her hands up his arms slowly and around his neck. She pulled his head a little closer to hers and touched her lips to his. She only kissed him for the shortest time before pulling back again. Their faces were so close. Their eyes were locked. His hands moved up under her shirt and caressed her back.

Their eyes closed and their lips met again. It was slow. They were savoring each other, what they'd missed for so long. Her hands went into his hair, pulling slightly at it as she enjoyed their kiss. His hands moved back to her hips, now on the inside of her shirt. He moved her down on his erection as he thrust upwards into her. They both groaned and opened their mouths to each other. Soon their kiss was getting more heated. Their tongues were battling for control and she was rocking her hips down on him while he kept thrusting upwards.

As they finally broke apart, in desperate need of oxygen, Scully moved her kisses down his neck. His hands moved into her pants and grabbed her bottom hungrily. She moaned against his neck and her hands moved out of his hair and down over his chest. She teased his nipples before moving her hands down to unbuckle his belt. She kissed her way up his chin and lazily kissed the corner of his mouth as he undid the buttons in her shirt.

Soon her shirt was thrown across the room; his hands were massaging her breasts and playing with her nipples. She'd opened his pants and had freed his throbbing erection, which she was now stroking.

"Move over," he told her.

"What?" she had problems understanding the meaning of his words, enjoying all the sensations.

"I need to get out of my pants," he clarified.

She let go of his hard penis and moved to the other side of the bed. He stood up instantly and quickly pulled his pants and boxers down, removing his socks as well. She couldn't help admiring his body. He was such a good looking man. Handsome. Beautiful even. Definitely sexy.

He moved onto the bed on his knees. He reached down for the hem of her pajama pants. She lifted her butt so he could pull her pants and panties down. He threw the clothes away, to the side, not caring where it went as long as it was nowhere near Scully's body. He moved down over her and she pulled his head to hers, needing to kiss him again. As they kissed they moved down on the bed. His erection was resting on her thigh and his hand was touching her breast, she took in a deep breath, breaking their kiss, as he tweaked her nipple.

His hand moved from her nipple and down her body to where she wanted it the most. His thumb expertly found her bundle of nerves.

"God, Mulder," she exclaimed as he pressed down on it.

He kissed her again, moving his thumb over her clitoris. She was writhing beneath him. Moaning into his open mouth.

He began kissing down her neck. She knew what he was going to do and she loved him for wanting to do that for her. But she simply couldn't any longer to have him inside of her.

"No, Mulder," she panted.

"No?" he looked up at her, from kissing the top of her breast.

"I want you inside of me now," she told him.

"But I… I want to taste you, Scully," he told her and went back to her breast.

She lifted his head again though. "Mulder, please!" she begged. "I can't wait any longer."

"Can I make love to you in the morning?"

"Yes! God, yes!" she agreed happily.

He moved between her legs as she opened herself to him. Her one hand moved behind his head and pulled him down to kiss him while her other hand moved down between them to guide his hard cock into her ready body.

He's groaning into her mouth as he enters her. She's so wet and so tight. He's missed this feeling so much.

She has her arms around his neck as he begins his slow rhythm in and out of her.

They had to break their kiss as they were both breathing hard now.

She could a familiar feeling starting to build inside of her. He felt so big inside of her, he always had. She loved the way he so easily slipped in and out of her. He felt so hard and smooth.

Then suddenly he stopped his movements as he was buried to the hilt inside of her.

"Mulder?!" she complained.

He moved his arms down under her middle and sat back, his butt resting on his heels as he kneeled with her on the bed. She'd yelped in surprise as he'd lifted her. She quickly caught on though and crossed her legs behind his back. With his arms still around her, and her arms around his neck, he trusted upwards into her.

"Oh, God-YES!" she exclaimed and began panting harder.

"Mmh," he agreed. "You feel so good."

"Mulder," she said in warning. "I-I'm coming."

"Yeah?" he panted, speeding up.

"Yes," she groaned. "Harder!"

He went harder and faster with every stroke and was soon pounding into her, holding her body to his, their skin glistening from perspiration.

"Yes, yes, YES!" she repeated the word every time he thrust into her and as she finally came, her toes curling and her nails digging into his skin.

She was still repeating the word, his name and that of the lord in heaven. She was still coming. He was close too.

"Yes, Mulder. Oh God, I love you."

That was it for him. He groaned her name loudly as he spilled his seed deep inside of her.

He kept sitting like that, on his knees with her in his lap, as they both caught their breaths.

"Amazing," she muttered.

"Yes," he agreed and laid her down on the bed gently.

She moved to her side and he moved down to lay behind her, pulling the covers over their naked bodies and turning the bedside lamp off.

"I love you, Scully," he whispered and kissed her neck before they both fell asleep, content in each other's arms once again.

They both knew they still had a lot of problems they needed to solve. But for tonight they didn't have to think about that. They'd promised each other to make love again in the morning but after that they'd go back to patching things up. They'd work their problems out before taking it further. Their relationship wasn't ready for them sleeping together yet. They both knew it had been a mistake but it wasn't one either of them could find it in their hearts to regret.

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><p><em>I hope you liked this chapter. I can't wait to find out what you guys think! :)<em>


	15. Off Track

Chapter 15 - Off Track

_J. Edgar Hoover Building_

_July 25 1993, 4.13 pm_

"So, Agent Mulder, where were you last night around 9?" Agent Pratt asked him.

Mulder couldn't believe this was happening. He felt his stomach churn as he sat on the other side of the table in the interrogation room - he'd never been on this side of the table before but that wasn't even what he was nervous about. He knew he hadn't done it, they were wasting their time, and for every minute they wasted on him, they could be tracking down the real culprit.

"We've been over this already!" Mulder sighed and ran his hands through his messy hair. "I was home!"

"We've talked to Dr. Scully's mother and according to her she was suppose to come over for dinner after work but she called and cancelled last minute and said she'd be over around 9 instead. Do you have any idea why she cancelled?"

"Yes, I called her when she got off work and asked if I could come over for dinner."

"According to Dr. Scully's family the two of you broke up in May, why would you have dinner together?"

"Okay, we did break up but we… we never really stopped loving each other. We'd been through something terrible, I know you've read the file; wouldn't you have done something to protect your family? At the time I couldn't see what else I could do than move out, to keep them away from harm. But I realized I'd made a mistake. She… she forgave me. As stupid and wrong as I had been she forgave me. We've been working things out for some time now."

"Her family claims you were only friends," Pratt looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"She was gonna tell her parents last night! That we were… back together."

"Agent Mulder, you're under arrest because we found your… DNA, in Dr. Scully's bed," Agent Marsh took over from Agent Pratt.

"We had sex," Mulder said in a low voice, feeling embarrassed to have to tell them.

"Yes, we found semen but also blood stains."

"Blood stains?" Mulder frowned. "My blood?"

"Yes," Agent Pratt nodded and Mulder could tell he enjoyed this. "Would you mind removing your shirt, Agent Mulder?"

"Oh," it finally dawned on Mulder as he unbuttoned his shirt. "Sometimes when we make love, she… she scratches me. Accidentally, I mean, she doesn't do it on purpose."

"That's fine, Agent Mulder - the shirt," Pratt tapped his fingers impatiently on the table.

Mulder stood up and removed his shirt. He looked down at the scratches from his shoulders to his chest. He knew there were some on his back as well. Agent Marsh went out and came back in with a camera. He took one of his back and one of his front. Mulder could see the scratches on his lower and upper back in the mirror which he knew Skinner was probably standing behind. Only the ones on his upper back were bad, and he figured that's where blood had leaked from. The other scratches were very light.

As Mulder had gotten his shirt back on and sat down again Pratt shocked him with his next question.

"Did you rape Dana Scully?"

"What?" Mulder leaped out of his chair.

"Sit down!" Agent Marsh said firmly and Mulder did just that but he was fuming.

"Look, you're wasting your time!" Mulder tried to contain himself but he was speaking loudly. "I love Scully and she loves me. And right now I don't know where she is or what has happened to her and you bastards are wasting your time on me! I'm an FBI agent for fuck's sake! If I was going to hurt someone I wouldn't leave my DNA in their bed!"

"Calm down, Agent Mulder!" Marsh told him harshly. "Look, I believe you. I don't think you hurt Dana Scully. But she's still missing and so far you're the last one to see her. So tell me, Agent Mulder; tell me everything that happened yesterday!"

"Yeah alright," Mulder nodded and took a deep breath. "We met for lunch yesterday at a place called Hugo's Diner."

"And did anything seem out of the ordinary? Did she act weird in any way or did you see her interact with someone, anything?"

"No, nothing," Mulder shook his head and sighed. "Wait…"

"Yes? Agent Mulder, did something happen?"

XxXxX

_27 HOURS EARLIER_

"Oh, God, Mulder, yes," she panted as he sped up.

Her skirt was bunched up and her shirt was open. His pants and boxers were around his ankles and his shirt was open too. Her legs were wrapped around him as he thrust into her, her back against the wall in the small bathroom at Hugo's Diner.

"Mmh," he groaned against her neck as he was kissing her. "Scully, I'm so close, please…"

He didn't need to beg her, he could feel her muscles tighten around him as she came, taking him with her over the edge. They were moaning each other's names as they came in unison.

Her hands were roaming his back, her lips planting small kisses on his shoulders and chest. He was enjoying being this close to her. They had been going out for a little over a month. They had done it right this time. He'd taken her out on dates; they'd gone to restaurants, the cinema, gone for walks and met for lunch. They hadn't had sex since that night in June when he'd come to her bedroom. Until now.

"God, I'm sorry, Scully," he sighed. "This wasn't how I planned it."

"What do you mean?" she chuckled.

"Well, I've been thinking about one thing this past month, Scully."

"Yeah, me too," she sighed with joy and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

"But I'd planned a bed. Rose peddles and candles. I wanted to go all out, make it special for you. Look at us! We're in a public restroom, Scully, you deserve better than that!"

"Mulder," she chuckled. "I don't care where we are as long as we're together. And you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future to surprise me with rose peddles and candles."

"You're amazing, Scully, you know that, right?"

"Oh, I know, you just showed me how amazing I can be," she smiled mischievously.

"This past month, Scully," he sighed. "I'm glad we've taken it slow. I mean, it's been hell not being able to make love to you every day! But it's been nice really talking together, sharing everything with you. I feel I know you better than I know myself now. I never thought we could be closer than we were when we lived together, but we are."

"I know, Mulder," she smiled that wonderful smile of hers, the one that made his heart beat faster and slower at the same time. "That's why I decided to seduce you today."

"You know, I've been hard since I walked into the diner and saw that little smile on your face, I could practically see you undress me with your eyes," he teased her and planted small kisses all around her face.

"Actually I was planning on asking you something but when I saw you I knew it'd have to wait."

"What do you wanna ask me?" he mumbled against her cheek.

"Well, I was thinking about telling my parents that we've been going out for a while now. Maybe tonight when I'm going over there for dinner," she said seeming a bit nervous.

"Yes, of course! I think that's a great idea, Scully. We should tell Aidan soon as well then."

"I'm glad you think so, and yes; we'll definitely have to tell Aidan soon."

They both sighed in relief as they both felt that they were finally out of the woods. He'd proven she could trust him again and they were ready to be out in the open with their relationship once more. They stayed in each other's arms a few minutes longer, just lightly kissing and nuzzling each other. In the end Scully broke the silence.

"You need to be back at work soon, Mulder," she sighed. "And I wanna go home and shower."

"Scully… how the hell do you expect me to go back to work when I know you'll be home showering?"

"Mulder," she giggled. "Don't be ridiculous, you can't skip work. We'll see each other soon again, I promise."

"Oh alright," he said and lifted her down to stand on the floor herself before pulling his pants back on and fixing his shirt. "Just call me if you change your mind and I'll drop whatever I have in my hands and be home in a heartbeat!"

"I know you will," she smiled affectionately at him as she caressed his cheek. "You know, I love you, right?"

"I know," he smiled and felt his whole body tingle. "And you know I'm so in love with you, I'd stop breathing if you asked me to, right?"

"Mulder," she chuckled and gave him one last kiss. "I know."

As they'd made their way out of the diner, Mulder saw a guy that seemed familiar, standing by a car, looking towards the entrance of the diner. As Mulder and Scully came walking out of the place, his hand at the small of her back, the man got into his car and drove off. Mulder tried to remember where he'd seen him before when Scully stopped dead in her tracks.

"What?" Mulder asked her, as she looked towards the car with the familiar man in it, driving off.

"Oh, nothing," she shook her head, but she looked as if she'd seen a ghost. "I just thought I saw someone I use to know."

"Maybe you did?" Mulder said as they started walking towards their cars again.

"No, no way," she chuckled but there was no humor in her laugh. "That's impossible. I'm probably just being ridiculous, Mulder, don't worry about it, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," he reluctantly agreed.

XxXxX

As Mulder told Agents Pratt and Marsh about this man that had seemed familiar to him and who Scully may have known, Marsh quickly took notes while Pratt rolled his eyes, clearly not believing a word Mulder was saying.

"Could you describe this man, Agent Mulder?" Agent Marsh asked him, looking down at his notes while he spoke, ignoring Pratt completely.

"Well, he had short blond hair and he looked to be around six feet tall, lean. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans."

"You remember anything else, anything at all? Think hard, Agent Mulder!" Marsh looked up at him.

Mulder tried to recall the small glimpse he'd caught of the man. He tried recalling where he'd seen him before but he couldn't quite place him. Then a thought hit him.

"Oh, he was smoking when I saw him," he said - he knew it wasn't much of a help but it was all he had.

"Alright, thank you, Agent Mulder, you're free to go now," Marsh said as he wrote down; smoker, in capital letters on his notepad.

As Mulder exited the interrogation room he saw Skinner coming out of the door to the room behind the mirror, where Mulder had suspected he might be.

"Follow me, Agent Mulder," Skinner said sternly and walked down the hall towards the elevators.

Mulder did as told and followed Skinner silently into an elevator. He noticed Skinner pressed the floor where his office was located and as assumed he was led to Skinner's office.

"Take a seat," Skinner said, as he took his own seat behind his desk.

Mulder sat down opposite him. He couldn't care less if Skinner was going to chew him out, all he could think about was Scully and what might have happened to her.

"Agent Mulder," Skinner started in a calmer tone that Mulder had expected. "I'm really sorry about all of this, I know you must be worried for Dr. Scully but believe me when I say I tried to talk them out of interrogating you."

"You did?" Mulder was surprised. "Why?"

"I know you and Dr. Scully had a relationship and I know how you feel about her, whatever happened to her you can't be responsible for it. But Agent Pratt insisted on interrogating you rather than just talking to you."

"I got the feeling he wasn't my biggest fan," Mulder sighed. "But tell me everything you know, please. Are there any leads?"

"Actually you were the only suspect, Agent Mulder. I'm afraid there are no other leads than the ones… the ones that incriminated you."

"But… there must be something! She can't just have disappeared without a trace!" Mulder was now pacing the floor in front of Skinner's desk.

"I'm afraid so," Skinner leaned in over his desk, removing his glasses with one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other.

"Her car?"

"Still there," Skinner put his glasses back on.

"Her purse?"

"Gone."

"She must have been on her way out to the car when she got- when she disappeared. Someone must have been waiting for her outside," Mulder deduced.

Skinner just nodded, following his logic.

"Is Aidan okay? Where is he?"

"He's still with his grandparents," Skinner said soothingly.

"Good," Mulder sighed and kept pacing.

Skinner's phone rang and he picked it up immediately.

"Assistant Director Skinner," he answered the phone. "Okay. I see. I have Agent Mulder with me now. I'll inform him, yes. Bye, Agent Marsh."

"So?" Mulder sat down feeling a lump form in his stomach.

"Dr. Scully is okay," Skinner smiled slightly. "She just showed up at her parents' house, picking up Aidan."

"She… where the hell has she been?" he stood up again, knocking the chair over.

"She didn't say, she just told them she'd explain later and that they needn't worry."

"I-I… What the fuck?! So she's okay?"

"She's okay, Agent Mulder. The case is closed."

"But I…"

Mulder had never been so confused before. Scully hadn't picked up Aidan on time, she hadn't even called. She hadn't shown up for work today either. She'd been gone all night and most of the day. And then she just reappears suddenly. Doesn't even explain herself. To anyone.

He took his phone out of his pocket to see if she'd tried to call him - she hadn't. He'd called her 32 times since he got the call from her parents telling him she hadn't showed up at their place that night. And that was just her cell phone. He'd called her home number 24 times, left 8 messages. And finally he'd called the police and Skinner.

He stormed out of Skinner's office and went down to his basement. He couldn't believe what was happening. Scully was keeping something from him. How long had she had secrets for him? It couldn't have been long, he was sure. Maybe something had happened that night, something unexpected. It must have, because she seemed like herself that day for lunch and later for dinner. He trusted Scully but he wanted to know where she was and who she was with. He picked up his phone and tried calling her again.

Much to his surprise she answered the phone.

"Scully!" he couldn't contain how relieved he was hearing his voice. "What the hell is going on?"

"_I'm so sorry about all of this, Mulder! My mother told me there'd been an investigation._"

"I don't care about that, Scully! I just wanna know what's going on, where have you been? Are you okay?"

"_I'm fine, Mulder. I can't explain everything right now but I will soon, I promise._"

"When?" he needed to see her as soon as possible.

"_We'll be home in a few hours; you can let yourself in with your key and wait for us if you want to."_

"Okay, I'll do that. I love you, Scully."

"_I'll see you later then. Bye._"

And with that she'd hung up. He sat behind his desk wondering for a few minutes before finally getting up and heading for his car. He drove straight to her apartment and let himself in.

As he sat down on the couch his stomach rumbled and he realized he hadn't eaten anything all day. He made his way to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich. He ate it and downed two glasses of milk before returning to the couch again. She'd said a few hours. That was an hour ago now. He leaned back in the couch and closed his eyes. The worst thing about this whole thing was that he had no idea what was happening. He remembered the guy in the parking lot outside the diner again and suddenly he remembered where he thought he'd seen him.

He sat straight up in the couch. No! It couldn't be! Was it? But that was impossible. Mulder ran to Aidan's room and went over to the desk where he had multiple framed pictures. There was one of Mulder, Scully and Aidan, taken for Scully's birthday. There was one of him and his cousins, laughing over something. Finally Mulder spotted the one he was looking for. He picked the picture up and studied the faces in it. One was Aidan and the other… the other was the man he'd seen in the parking lot.

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><p><em>Sorry it's taken me so long to update this story - I hope you all remember it and still want to read it.<em>


	16. James Harris

**Thanks to my amazing beta: Matash21.**

**For you who follow this story, sorry I've been so ba****d about updating. From now on I'll make an effort to update twice a month.**

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><p>Chapter 16 - James Harris<p>

_Scully's Apartment_

_July 25 1993, 8.35 pm_

Mulder was in shock. It'd been an hour since he'd picked up the photo in Aidan's room. He was sitting on the couch now, photograph in hand. He kept trying to convince himself it couldn't be him - the guy he'd seen at the diner couldn't be the guy in the photograph, sitting with Aidan on his knee, smiling. But it was. Aidan was about 3 years old in the picture, meaning it had been taken nearly 4 years ago. But as Mulder looked at the guy in the picture, there was no doubt. It was the man he'd seen the day before. The man who'd seemed oddly familiar. He remembered Scully's words.

_"I just thought I saw someone I use to know."_

_"Maybe you did?"_

"_That's impossible."_

It was impossible, the man was dead. And yet Mulder was sure, it was him. And now Scully and Aidan were with him. Where did that leave Mulder? This man was Aidan's father, if he really was alive… Mulder tried to remember everything Scully had ever told him about Aidan's father, everything Mulder knew about James Harris.

_I knew he had been unfaithful to me and that I didn't want to be in a relationship with him anymore… he wanted to be there for the baby… when Aidan was four months old James' dad offered him a job in the family business, he moved to Chicago… James was there for every birthday and every Christmas but that was it… he loved Aidan… just wasn't ready to be a father… James past away nearly two years ago… a motorcycle accident…_

There was a sound at the door. Mulder got up quickly as Scully let herself in. He felt a tug at his heart as he saw Scully come in, closely followed by James Harris holding a sleeping Aidan in his arms.

"Mulder," Scully smiled vaguely at him.

"Scully," he greeted her back, standing in the doorway to the living room.

"We need to talk," she said.

Mulder couldn't do anything but nod.

"I'll put him to bed," James whispered, careful not to wake his sleeping son.

"It's down the hall and to the right," Scully smiled at him and pointed.

As he walked down the hall, Scully hung her jacket.

"Let's go into the living room, Mulder."

He nodded and went into the living room, sitting down on the couch, his heart pounding.

"So I take it you've figured out who we've been with," Scully sighs as she looks at the photograph of James and Aidan on the coffee table.

"Yeah," Mulder nods. "What's going on, Scully?"

As she takes Mulder's hand in hers, he can feel himself slowly calming down.

"What I tell you doesn't leave this room, Mulder," Scully warns and Mulder nods.

"James is a CIA agent; he's been working undercover for these past years. He was in a motorcycle accident but he didn't die. I don't know the details of his mission or why he needed to appear dead, all that is confidential. But I'm just so relieved that he's back, Mulder," she broke into a big smile.

"I…" Mulder had no idea what to say. "Have you known all along? That he was alive."

"No, I only found out yesterday. That's why I was gone for so long. James explained it all to me, as much of it as he can talk about anyway."

"You could have called," Mulder took his hand out of hers as he looked down, not meeting her eyes.

"Mulder, I'm sorry," Scully put a soothing hand on his knee. "I should have called you, I know. But we got talking and I forgot about everything else. After he'd explained things to me, he asked about Aidan. He wanted to know what he has missed."

"You told him about me?"

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Mulder raised his voice as he stood up from the couch. "Have I not been here for you _and _for Aidan? Am I not important in his life? In your life?"

"Of course you are, Mulder," Scully said seriously, standing up next to him, taking his hand in hers again.

"Mulder, I love you, you know that! But James is Aidan's father; I can't pretend I'm not glad he's alive."

"And I'm not asking you to, Scully. But you spend all night with your former boyfriend, the father of your child even, and you don't even call to let me know where you are. You have no idea how scared I was and they kept interrogating me and I was so afraid someone was hurting you while they were wasting their time," Mulder ranted.

"They interrogated you?" Scully seemed surprised.

"I thought you knew," Mulder sighed and sat down again.

"I had no idea! My mother just said there was an investigation. Why did they interrogate you?"

"They found my DNA in your bed, Scully. And your parents had told them we weren't together anymore."

"Oh, Mulder," Scully sighed and sat down in his lap, he instinctively put his arms around her. "I am so sorry. I should have called you."

"Yeah," he agreed and buried his face in her neck. "I'm so glad you're okay, Scully. I can't live without you."

As someone coughed behind them, Scully stood up from Mulder's lap and Mulder stood up as well.

"Sorry," James smiled half a smile at them. "Aidan's still sleeping, I took a look around his room, I hope you don't mind."

"No, of course not, James, it's fine," Scully smiled back at him.

An awkward silence set over the three of them. Mulder tried hard to think of something to say but nothing came to mind. Finally James broke the silence.

"I should head back now anyway - I'll stop by again tomorrow, if it's okay?"

"It's late and it's an hour long drive, you should stay," Scully told him.

"It's only 9," James shrugged.

"But you didn't get any sleep last night; I'd feel better if you stayed."

"Alright, Dana," he smiled. "If you're sure it's not too much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all, James. You want a cup of tea before going to bed? You want some tea, Mulder?"

"Yeah sure," James said.

"Tea sounds good," Mulder agreed.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Scully took Mulder's hand and gave it a squeeze before going to the kitchen.

"So…" James said as Scully had left the room. "We haven't been properly introduced, I'm James Harris."

"Fox Mulder," Mulder told him and shook his hand.

"Dana tells me you're been close with Aidan. I'm glad he's had someone to look after him."

"He's a great kid," Mulder nodded.

"I can't believe he'll be 7 soon," James shook his head. "I've missed out on so many things."

Mulder felt bad for him as he saw the regret written on the man's face.

"He talks about you often, about some of the things you did together before you went away, and which things in his room are from his dad."

"Really?" he seems surprised but very happy.

"Really," Mulder smiles at him.

"Wow, that's great to hear. Thank you, Mulder."

"No problem," Mulder shrugged. "I'll go help Dana."

"Yeah sure," James said and sat down in an armchair as Mulder went to the kitchen.

Scully was placing three cups on a tray as Mulder stepped into the kitchen. The water wasn't boiling yet. He stepped up behind her and put his arms around her. He felt her tense and turn around in his arms.

"Oh, Mulder," she sighed and chuckled as she put her arms around his waist. "Are you spending the night?"

"I think it'd be a bit crowded, Scully," he raised his eyebrow at her. "Would you sleep in the middle between me and James?"

"Mulder!" she smacked him in the chest and laughed as she blushed. "He'll be sleeping on the couch. I want you and only you in my bed."

"Well, that's good to know," he sighed and kissed her forehead tenderly.

"About earlier, Mulder…" Scully started.

"Forget it, Scully," Mulder interrupted her. "I was jealous for no reason."

"I did tell him that I'm seeing someone," she smiled.

"You're seeing someone?" he mocked shock. "Damn, and I thought I had a chance."

"Too bad, because the guy I'm seeing is really amazing," she giggled.

"Amazing, huh? Tell me more about this wonder boy," Mulder couldn't help the smirk as he lowered his hands from Scully's lower back to her bottom.

"Mulder, we have company," Scully laughed as she pushed him away.

"Sorry, you're irresistible," Mulder couldn't help the smile on his face. "Can I help you?"

"Sure," Scully chuckled. "You can take the tray in."

Mulder did so as she took the kettle.

As they had sat down in the couch opposite James in the armchair, Scully poured some tea for them.

They started talking, mostly about Aidan and how he was turning 7 in a week's time. Scully pulled out a few photo albums and James flicked through them, asking as he turned the pages which events the photos had been taken for. As he got to one of the newer photo albums there were quite a lot of photos with Mulder in them. The jealousy and regret on James' face didn't go unnoticed by Mulder but Scully didn't seem to notice. Mulder understood him perfectly. He was just as jealous of James because he was Aidan's real father.

Eventually they finished their teas and Scully made up for James on the couch. He seemed a bit surprised when he realized Mulder would be spending the night but didn't say anything.

"Finally alone," Mulder groaned as he'd closed the door behind them.

Before Scully could do anything Mulder had picked her up bridal style and put her down on the bed. He was stripping out of his clothes as Scully finally came to word.

"Mulder, we need to talk, slow down!" she sighed and sat up in bed.

"I thought we'd talked already," he stated as he sat down on the side of the bed only clad in his boxers.

"I need to know how you feel, Mulder, talk to me about this giant thing that's just happened!"

"Scully, you know how I feel," he sighed. "I love you. And I want you."

His hand was caressing her leg, from her foot to her knee and back again.

"So do you like James?"

"Yes," he sighed and dropped his hand from her leg. "He seems like a good guy, from what you've told me about him it certainly seems like he's changed."

"Yes, he really has," Scully nodded in agreement. "But there's something I have to tell you, Mulder."

"What? What is it?" he felt his stomach churn in nervous tensions.

"Well it's about last night," she said and looked down. "James and I had been talking most of the night and he told me how he wanted to see Aidan a lot more now that he was back, if I'd let him. And I told I would if he made an effort to be in his life. And James got really happy and… and he kissed me, Mulder."

"He what?" Mulder outburst and stood up in anger. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Mulder! NO!" Scully quickly got up from the bed and stopped him right before he pulled the door open. "Mulder I stopped him right away and told him about you, nothing happened really. I stopped it, okay? He didn't know about you."

"He didn't know?" Mulder whispered harshly. "Scully, I saw him outside the diner yesterday. He saw us together!"

"Mulder it doesn't matter! You know I love you, don't you?"

"I know, but it matters, Scully! Of course it matters!" he sighed angrily and sat down on the bed, his head in his hands.

Scully sat down next to him and stroked his back. "Are you mad at me?"

"Of course not, Scully. I'm glad you told me. You stopped him right away?"

"Yes, of course I did. As soon as his lips touched mine I pushed him away. There's never been doubt in my mind, it's you that I love and you I wanna be with."

"Good. Just imagine if one of my former girlfriends kissed me. How would you feel, Scully?"

"I'd kill the bitch," Scully nodded.

"Yeah," Mulder chuckled, a surge of energy passing through him at imagining Scully fight someone over him - that would be extremely hot.

"I can see what you're thinking Mulder," she giggled.

"You can?" he smirked.

"Yes," she smiled and ran her hand through his hair. "Are we good, Mulder?"

"Yeah, we're good," he nodded.

Scully smiled lovingly at him and gave him a gentle kiss. Mulder quickly went to deepen the kiss; his hand got tangled in her beautiful, red hair as his tongue gently massaged hers. Before long Scully's t-shirt and pants were on the floor and she was laying back on the pillows in her soft bed as Mulder leaned down over her.

Mulder tried to focus solely on Scully but he couldn't forget about what she'd just told him. As much in love as he was and as much as he was craving her right now, he couldn't bury his anger. Someone had made a move on his woman, and Mulder couldn't just forget about it. Then he realized James was sleeping on the couch in the living room. He'd show him who Scully wanted, he'd show him what he could do for her, and he'd make him insanely jealous.

He moved his kisses down her neck to her breasts. They were still covered in her bra but he tweaked her nipple through the material making her moan slightly. He moved his kisses further down to her taut stomach. As he reached her panties, he was about to pull them down while kissing her hip fiercely, when she stopped him.

"Mulder, something's not right," she was breathing heavily from his ministrations. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good," he chuckled. "Just lay back and enjoy, Scully."

"No, stop," she said and sat up.

"What?" he asked her annoyed, still on his stomach between her legs; his head perched on his hands.

"You feel different. When you touch me," she told him. "It's like… it's just like every other relationship I've been in. Something's wrong, Mulder, what is it?"

"I… I just can't stop thinking about him kissing you," he sighed. "I just wanted to please you so he could hear what I can do to you, so he'd know you're truly mine."

"Mulder… why do you care what he thinks? You _are_ truly mine, because it's what you and I feel in our hearts. It has nothing to do with anybody else. It should be between you and me," she told him as she ran her fingers soothingly through his thick hair.

"Could you really feel the difference?" he asked amazed as he enjoyed her caress.

"Yes, I could. What makes making love to you so different, so much better, is that you always do it for me. I could feel you weren't now, your focus wasn't on me or to make me feel good."

"No, it was on making you scream," he admitted.

"Mulder," she smacked him over the head. "Just come hold me."

"With pleasure," he sighed and moved up the bed.

He lay down on his back and pulled her up to his side, putting both his arms around her, holding her to him tightly.

"So you didn't get to tell your parents about us yesterday," Mulder said as she was drawing circles on his chest.

"No, but I'll tell them next time I see them, I promise you. I'm ready for people to know we're back together."

"Yeah, me too," he sighed contently.

"And I thought about something, Mulder. Why have I never met your parents?"

"My parents?" he asked surprised. "Well, we don't keep in touch much."

"I wanna meet them," she told him, looking up into his green eyes.

"Okay, we'll visit them some time."

"Mulder, do they even know about me?"

"I…" he thought hard about it. "I don't remember if I ever told them."

"You can't remember?" Scully sounded upset. "Mulder, we've lived together, how can you not have told your parents?"

"I don't know, maybe I have," he shrugged.

"Mulder, you're calling your mother and father tomorrow!" she said strictly.

"Yes, ma'am", he chuckled as he turned off the light in the bedroom.

There was quiet for a few moments until Mulder spoke.

"Scully, it doesn't matter who knows about us. We love each other and that's what's important."

"Shut up, Mulder, you're calling both your parents in the morning!"

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading and keeping to reviewfave/follow. So how did you like this chapter? What do you think will be James' part in their lives now? And do you think Mulder and Scully are out of the woods for now?**


	17. The Secret

**Thanks to my wonderful beta: Matash21.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 17 - The Secret<p>

_Scully's Apartment_

_July 30 1993, 8.03 am_

"Hi, Mulder," Aidan said happily as he sat down by the table in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Aidan. How are you feeling today?" Mulder smiled at the kid over his shoulder as he was cooking breakfast.

"I'm good," he smiled an excited smile.

Mulder knew what he was excited about. He'd be turning 7 the next day and he was having a big party at a family restaurant, all his friends and family would be there.

"Are you gonna make bacon and eggs?" Aidan wanted to know.

"I sure am," Mulder chuckled. "I'm just gonna make some toast for your mom first."

"She doesn't want eggs?" Aidan asked as he got up and got the orange juice out of the fridge.

"No, she's feeling poorly."

"Again?" Aidan asked in concern as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "Will she be okay for tomorrow?"

"I'm sure she'll feel better real soon," Mulder tried to comfort him as he put the two pieces of toast on a plate. "I'll be right back to make you breakfast, okay? You can watch some TV while you wait."

"Okay," Aidan nodded and went into the living room with his glass of orange juice.

Mulder carefully opened the door to the bedroom to see a pale Scully in the middle of the bed. It was a warm July day in DC and she was wearing a little nightgown that went mid thigh and had pushed the covers off of her and to the floor.

"I brought some toast, you should try and eat," Mulder said sweetly as he sat down at the edge of the bed.

"Okay," she sighed and sat up in the bed slowly.

He gave her the plate and held her hand while she brought the toast to her mouth. She ate carefully and before long half the piece of toast was gone.

"How's that?" Mulder asked her as he brought her hand to his mouth to place a gentle kiss on it.

"Actually that feels better," Scully nodded.

The past two mornings Scully had felt bad but she'd gotten up anyway, resulting in her being sick both mornings.

"I know what you're thinking, Mulder. It's what we're both thinking," she sighed.

"Do you really think it could be? I mean we both thought it couldn't happen so we've never used any protection… but… do you think it…" he couldn't form the words, he wanted it to be but he didn't want to be hurt if it was a false alarm.

"I was told after Aidan was born that I was barren! I never talked to anyone about it since, well anyone besides you that is. But I'm more than two weeks late and I have all the symptoms. Nausea, back pain, tender breasts…" she realized she'd started crying and quickly removed her tears with the back of her hand.

"It's okay, Scully," he said soothingly and pulled her into his arms to sit in his lap. "We'll figure something out. What can I do?"

"Well, you could buy a home pregnancy test. I'll take that and if it's…" she couldn't bear thinking about the output.

"We'll deal with the result when we have it, okay?" he kissed her in the hair as she rested her head against his chest. "I'll go make some breakfast for Aidan and me, and then I'll go to the pharmacy and then we'll take it from there."

"That sounds good, Mulder," Scully nodded and moved her head back so she could give him a kiss.

"Do you wanna move to the couch? Watch some TV with Aidan?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," she agreed and got up.

Mulder followed her to the couch in the living room where Aidan was watching cartoons.

"Mom!" he said happily as he saw his mother. "Are you feeling better today?"

"Yes, I'm feeling a bit better," she smiled at him and sat down.

Aidan went to give her a hug but Mulder stopped him.

"No, Aidan, your mom is still ill," he told him kindly.

"Mulder, it's okay," Scully chuckled. "Just be careful, okay, Aidan?"

"Okay," he nodded and climbed onto his mother's lap.

Aidan was wearing a pair of blue shorts and a grey t-shirt which was wrinkled from sleeping in it. He looked so cute and when Scully hugged him closely to her giving him a kiss on the forehead, tears welling up in her eyes, Mulder had a hard time controlling his own feelings. Having a kid with Scully would be the most amazing thing ever. He quickly moved to the kitchen to make breakfast, so he wouldn't get too emotional in front of Scully. He couldn't help imagine what it would be like to be a dad. He already felt like one for Aidan but to be there from the beginning, to hear someone call him dad, and for Scully to be the mother… it all made his heart feel warm and brought tears to his eyes.

Mulder swiftly got some bacon, some eggs, and some toast done before calling Aidan. Scully made herself a cup of tea while the boys ate. While the water boiled she changed from her nightgown into a pair of shorts and a tank top.

"Mom, do you think you'll be okay tomorrow?" Aidan asked sweetly as she sat down by the table, a cup of tea in her hand.

"I might still be a little ill, but I'll come no matter what, okay? It's your birthday party and I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Okay, mom," he seemed relieved.

Mulder soon finished his food and after cleaning his plate he ruffled Aidan's hair and gave Scully a kiss before heading out.

"Where did Mulder go?" Aidan asked Scully as Mulder left.

"He just needs to go buy something," she told him as she sipped her tea.

"What's he gonna buy?" Aidan asked curious.

"Aidan," Scully chuckled and stroked his cheek. "You can't know, okay?"

"Is it for my birthday?" his eyes got bigger and his smile widened.

"Maybe," Scully smiled. "Now eat the rest of your breakfast."

Aidan went back to his eggs but was soon distracted again.

"Does Mulder live with us again?"

"No, Aidan. You know he doesn't," she'd explained this to him before.

"But you said you're together again?" he frowned and ate a piece of bacon.

"We are," she smiled.

"Why did you stop being together before?" he wondered.

Scully thought for a second how to explain it to Aidan. She knew she wanted to be honest with him.

"Do you remember the bad man?" she asked and Aidan nodded.

"Well, Mulder was afraid that would happen again if he kept living here."

"Why?"

"Because the bad man wanted to hurt me, because he knew how much Mulder loves me."

"But he's gone now, so it doesn't matter anymore," Aidan shrugged.

"That's right," Scully smiled at him. "And Mulder knows that now too."

"So why doesn't he live with us again?"

"Because it hurt us when he left and I won't let him come back unless I'm sure he'll stay."

"Oh okay," Aidan accepted her reasons and started eating his toast with butter on it. "Did you and dad ever live together?"

"No, we didn't," Scully answered quickly, surprised at his question.

"Did you ever love dad as much as you love Mulder?"

Scully had always known that she'd one day have to deal with some hard questions but she hadn't counted on that day being today.

"I was in love with your dad once and I'll always love him for being a part of you. But I've never loved anyone as much as I love Mulder."

"Not even me?" Aidan got a sad expression on his face.

"Of course," Scully laughed. "But that's a different kind of love, Aidan."

"There's more than one kind of love?"

"Yes," Scully nodded. "There are two kinds. There's the way you love your family and friends and then there's being _in love_."

"How's that different?" he wondered.

"Well," Scully thought about how to put it into words. "When you're in love it feels like you have butterflies in your stomach when you think of the person you're in love with."

"And you wanna kiss them all the time, like you and Mulder?"

"Yes," Scully laughed and blushed. "No more questions now, Aidan, finish your breakfast."

Scully got up from the table and cleaned her tea mug while Aidan gulped down the last piece of toast. Before long Mulder was back with a small bag in his hand. While Scully took the bag and headed for the bathroom, Mulder took Aidan to his room.

"Do you want to do some coloring, Aidan?" he asked him and opened his color book at his desk.

"I want to go to the park," Aidan said. "It's more fun to be outside!"

"It sure is," Mulder agreed. "But we can't go to the park right now."

"Why not?" Aidan pouted.

"I need to go help your mom with something. But we can go to the park later, okay?"

Aidan thought about it for a few seconds before nodding and sitting down at his desk to color.

When Mulder opened the door to the bathroom Scully was sitting the edge of the bathtub with the test in her hand. She looked up as Mulder came in.

"Is it…" he started.

"It'll be a few minutes, I just did it," she said and reached out for him.

He sat down next to her and put his arm around her.

"Are these things trustworthy?" Mulder asked.

"Pretty much," Scully nodded.

It was the longest two minutes in Mulder's life. His mind kept imagining how wonderful it would be to have a child together but he tried not to think about it. If the test was negative… he couldn't lie to himself, he'd be disappointed. But he'd feel no different about Scully, he knew that. Even if they'd never have a child together he'd love her and be in love with her till the day he died.

Finally Scully checked her watch and looked up at Mulder, whispering; "You're ready?"

He could only nod. She turned the test around and they both looked at the little screen. Tears started falling down Scully's face. Mulder didn't know how to read the test but judging by Scully's reaction he thought he got the idea.

"Shh, Scully," he comforted her, holding her tightly. "It's gonna be alright."

"What do you mean?" she sniffled.

"I'm disappointed too, Scully. I think we both wanted a different result but it's okay, really."

"I thought you wanted this!" she said and stood up, moving out of his arms.

"What? How could you think that, Scully?" he stood up himself.

"You… you don't want to have a child with me?" she asked in shock.

"Of course I do! I'd love that, Scully. But… wait, the test… it was negative, wasn't it?"

"No," Scully let out a chuckle as she dried her tears away. "Mulder, it's positive. I'm pregnant!"

"You…" Mulder felt like his heart stopped before setting off in a race.

"Then why are you crying, Scully?" he asked, letting out a laugh as he picked her up into his arms and hugged her.

"Because I'm happy," she giggled. "And probably very emotional."

"Oh, Scully," he set her down again and put his hands around her neck, looking her deep into her beautiful, blue eyes. "I love you so much!"

She smiled happily at him before their lips collided. He kissed her so passionately and she returned his fervor.

"I can't believe we're having a baby!" he outburst as they broke off for air.

He got down to his knees and lifted up her tanktop, placing kisses all over her belly.

"Mulder," she giggled and ran her hands through his hair. "You're silly."

"When will you start to show? When did we even make this?" he wondered out loud.

"Do you remember that night you came to me after you'd fallen asleep reading for Aidan?"

"Yeah," he chuckled.

"Well either then or the next morning," she smiled down at him.

"Wow," he sighed and kissed her stomach again.

"That means I'm a bit over 5 weeks along. With Aidan I didn't start to show until I was fourteen or fifteen weeks pregnant but that was my first pregnancy so it might be sooner this time."

"Good," he sighed and stood up again.

"I'll need to make an appointment with my OB/GYN to confirm that I'm pregnant," she told him.

He just nodded and couldn't wipe the goofy smile off his face.

"I love you, Mulder," she told him sincerely. "I've dreamt about carrying your child for a long time now."

"Really, you have?" he asks amazed.

"I have," she confirms with a smile.

"Me too," he grins. "I bet your parents will be thrilled to have another grandchild. Should we wait to tell people?"

"I'd like to wait until after my 12 week checkup. If anything should happen it usually happens in the first trimester. Plus we'd have pictures from the scan to show," she smiled at him.

"That's a long time to wait for such a big secret," Mulder chuckled and put his hands on her hips. "Especially when I feel like shouting it from the rooftops."

"I know it'll be hard to keep this secret, Mulder. But let's try, okay?"

"Of course, Scully!" he agreed happily and gave her a gentle kiss on the mouth.

XxXxX

_Harry's Friends & Family_

_July 31 1993, 12.45 pm_

Mulder and Scully had been at the restaurant getting ready for the party for a little while now. Scully had been so lucky to get an appointment at her OB/GYN early that morning, they'd told Scully's parents that she'd been feeling ill and that it'd been the only free appointment her doctor had, so Cpt. and Mrs. Scully could look after Aidan while Mulder went with Scully. Really they just wanted to be sure as early as possible. When the doctor confirmed the pregnancy, Mulder got so happy he pulled Scully into a hug and gave her a big kiss - Scully was so happy herself she kissed him right back, not caring where they were.

They'd gone to the restaurant after the appointment. The party was starting at 1 and Scully's parents were bringing Aidan soon.

"It looks good," Mulder commented as they'd hung the last piece of decoration.

"It does," Scully agreed, neither one of them were able to wipe the big smile off their faces.

Mulder pulled her in for a hug once again. They had practically been inseparable since they first found out the day before. He moved a strand of hair from her forehead as he smiled lovingly at her before his lips caught hers in a gentle kiss. He held her close to himself; his hands at her lower back as he kissed her while her hands roamed his hair.

"Mommy!" Aidan shouted as he saw them when they entered the establishment, making Mulder and Scully break off their embrace.

Aidan was just about to jump into his mother's arms but Mulder caught him, afraid he might hurt the baby.

"Come here, you little rascal," he said as he picked him up and tickled him.

"No, Mulder!" Aidan laughed and squirmed in his arms.

Mulder stopped his attack and Scully gave her son a kiss on the cheek.

"Have you had a good day so far with grandpa and grandma?" she asked him sweetly, stroking his hair.

"Yes," he nodded. "Grandma made pancakes and we went to the park and grandpa gave me a soccer ball but I couldn't bring it because we can't play in the restaurant."

"Wow, sounds like you've been busy already," Mulder said and kissed him in the hair.

"Yes," he laughed and leaned into Mulder.

Scully's eyes welled up at the proud expression on Mulder's face as Aidan leaned into him; she just knew he'd be the best father ever.

The next one to arrive at the party was James. Mulder put down Aidan when he saw him and pointed in his direction, making Aidan run over to his dad.

"That was nice of you," Scully whispered to him, taking his hand.

"Hm," he just grunted, pretending not to care.

Mulder was still very offended about James trying to kiss Scully but he couldn't help feel sorry for him at the same time. And to be honest; Mulder was with Scully and he'd probably spend more time with Aidan than James ever had, he really had little to be jealous of.

As Aidan went to the playroom with James, Maggie and Bill Scully came over.

"I'm really glad James is back in Aidan's life," Mrs. Scully commented.

"Does Aidan remember him much?" Cpt. Scully wondered.

"He's asked about him over the years so he knows a lot but I don't think he actually remembers him, only from photos," Scully told them.

"Mulder, can I speak to you for a second?" Cpt. Scully asked, surprising Mulder.

"Yes, of course, sir," he nodded.

"Ehm, we'll go get greet the guests," Scully said and walked over to the entrance with her mother.

"Mulder, I just want you to know that I'm not very impressed with James at the moment," the older man started.

"You're not?" Mulder was surprised - from what Scully had told him he wasn't around much before but he really seemed to be engaged in his son's life this time around.

"No, he let Dana think he was dead for three and a half years! And even worse; he let Aidan think his dad had died. I don't care what his reasons are, that's just not okay. You're more of a father for Aidan than he'll ever be."

"I think that's a bit harsh, sir," Mulder instantly felt bad for James. "You shouldn't judge James for what's in the past. Just look at him now. Dana has told me he wasn't as involved in Aidan's life as she wanted him to be in the past but he really seems to have grown, he seems to care more now. And I really think he loves his son."

"You're probably right, Mulder. I just can't trust him right now, maybe in time…" he trailed off. "Anyway, I just want you to keep an eye on him, okay? Make sure he's good to Aidan."

"Of course, sir, always," Mulder nodded, proud Scully's dad trusted him but not James.

"Good," he said and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm glad you and Dana are together again, that you figured things out."

"Me too," Mulder couldn't help the big, goofy smile on his face at the mention of the mother of his future child. "We were never really apart but we did need to work out some stuff. But yes, we're good now, better than ever actually."

"Great, that's good to hear, Mulder," he nodded approvingly.

"What are the two of you talking about?" Scully couldn't keep away anymore.

Mulder instantly pulled her into his side, his arm around her, kissing her temple.

"Nothing to worry about, honey, we just had a little man-to-man talk," Cpt. Scully smiled at the young couple so clearly in love.

"Well the party is in full swing, the two of you should join the fun," she told them, motioning for the playroom which was now filled with young kids.

"Is everybody here?" Mulder asked. "We should let Aidan open his presents then."

"Yeah, I think they're all here now," Scully nodded.

"The little guy's been talking about his presents all day," Cpt. Scully chuckled and moved over to the big pile of present on a table as he called Aidan over.

Aidan was excited about every one of his presents, of course. He liked being the center of attention as well as people were watching him open the presents, fooling around and making fun with people.

As he was done opening the presents the restaurant served dinner, pizza for everyone on Aidan's request.

Charlie and Jill were there as well with Christopher, Thomas, and their new little boy.

"Wow, he's so tiny," Mulder observed as he was sitting next to Jill and little Gabriel. "How old is he?"

"Just a bit over 6 weeks now," Jill smiled at him. "Do you want to hold him?"

The kids had returned to the playroom so it was just the grownups around the table now and all focus suddenly seemed to be on Mulder.

"No, I couldn't," he shook his head.

"Go on, Mulder, you'll be fine," Scully nudged him on.

"Here," Jill handed the small boy over to Mulder, guiding him on how to hold him.

"That suits you, Fox," Mrs. Scully smiled at him.

"Easy, mom," Bill warned her, making everyone laugh, but Mulder and Scully.

"I can't believe how tiny he is," Mulder told Scully grinning from ear to ear.

"I know," Scully chuckled, holding the baby's hand in her own. "He's so cute."

"I can't wait," Mulder whispered so low only Scully could hear.

"Me neither," she grinned back at him.

* * *

><p><strong>So… you like?<strong>


	18. Flying High Above The Ground

Thanks to my beta: Matash21.

Hope you all enjoy this one. Happy new year.

* * *

><p>Chapter 18 – Flying High Above The Ground<p>

_J. Edgar Hoover Building_

_August 28 1993, 11.48 am_

Mulder had never considered himself a romantic. He'd never thought of himself as a very happy person in general either. But for the past month he'd been flying high above the ground, his head in the clouds and his thoughts only revolving about Scully and the welfare of their unborn baby growing in her stomach. If the 'Mulder before Scully' met present Mulder, the two wouldn't be able to recognize one another. And 'Mulder before Scully' would no doubt think that present Mulder was a fool. The X-files no longer held the same meaning to him. He still looked for the paranormal and tracked it down, but his heart was with Scully always. He could be visiting a haunted house and his mind would be on Scully; wondering what she was doing, if she was thinking about him too, maybe she was wearing some of the new lingerie he'd bought her and was planning on inviting him over later, she too could be thinking about baby names as he found himself do more and more often, perhaps she could even feel the baby move. He might be a fool, but he was a happy fool.

"Mulder, where did you go?" his partner, Craig Willmore, chuckled from the back of the office which was considered his space.

"Oh, just wondering something about this case," Mulder said in his own defense holding up the case file he was suppose to read as he was once again daydreaming.

"You know, it helps if you don't have the file upside down," Willmore smirked typing something onto his computer.

"Wiseass," Mulder remarked as he turned it the right way up.

"How's the missus?" Willmore asked with a knowing smile tugging at his lips. "Did you work things out?"

"Everything's fine," Mulder couldn't stop a smile from forming on his own lips as the topic fell on Scully.

"I figured as much when you called it quits 5 o'clock the other day."

"Yeah, it's nice to have someone to come home to."

"So you live together again?" Willmore looked up from his computer screen.

"No, not really. But it probably won't be long now," Mulder couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"I'm glad you're happy, Mulder, I really am. Everyone deserves happiness."

"Everyone even me, you mean?" he chuckled.

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Willmore grinned and rolled his eyes. "I just meant, I know what it's like to feel lost and out of place in the world. You know, to feel alone and lonely."

"Yeah…" Mulder suddenly felt bad for his partner. "How are you doing, Willmore? How's Elizabeth?"

"I'm doing fine," he nodded. "I spend the whole weekend with Lizzie a couple of weeks ago for the first time since the divorce. And it went really well, so I'm hopeful Barbara will let me have her again for a longer time soon."

"That's good, I'm glad to hear."

"Yeah," he smiled. "Now, get back to work, Mulder! That's a missing person file you're suppose to read, could be alien related."

"So cheeky," Mulder commented but went back to his file, which he actually began reading now.

Even though he was reading and making notes his mind was still on Scully. He had lunch soon; he'd make sure to give her a call as soon as Willmore left the office. He really hoped he'd see her tonight. She'd had dinner with her parents yesterday and he hadn't been able to make it out there in time if he was going to join. He also needed to make plans for the two of them for the weekend. The butterflies, which constantly resided in his stomach, grew to dragonflies at the thought of his plans.

Mulder finished reading the file in hand and finally lunchtime arrived.

"So; aliens at large once more, Spooky?" Willmore jested with his partner.

Mulder had never liked his nickname; Spooky. But when Willmore called him by it, somehow it didn't matter. Probably because they had become somewhat friendly and Mulder was sure he could trust him now. Craig Willmore was send to spy on him, but their plan had backfired.

"This might surprise you…"

"Coming from you? Nothing surprises me anymore, Mulder," he interjected, smiling wickedly as he tidied his workspace.

"But I don't think it's aliens." Mulder carried on regardless.

"Alright, slightly surprised, I admit it. What gives?" Willmore sat down in the chair opposite Mulder's.

"Okay, Gerry Steinbeck disappeared two days ago coming home from an unknown location. He has clearly entered his apartment, as the keys were still in the door still and his wallet was inside as well."

"How's that proof of anything?" Willmore shrugged unconvinced.

"It's not. There's nothing at the crime scene suggesting anything peculiar or even illegal. Nothing; other than the fact the door was left wide open."

"This case seems familiar," Willmore's brows furrowed.

"That's because there's been a rise in the number of these kind of disappearances lately. All in the DC area."

"Why hasn't anyone noticed this connection before?"

"That's because the others have been found dead before anyone knew they were missing," Mulder gave Willmore the last piece of information to make up the case he's built, reading the file.

"It's lunchtime, Willmore, go out and get us some food. We'll check up on the other cases and report our progress to Skinner when we've had something to eat."

Willmore soon left the office, meaning Mulder was finally alone with the phone. He quickly dialed the familiar number and bit his lower lip as her voice sent a shiver through him.

"Dana Scully," she said businesslike.

"Hello, Dana Scully," he whispered back at her.

"Who is this?" she asked, faking not recognizing his voice immediately.

"It's your secret admirer."

"My secret admirer?" she chuckled. "Well what can I do for you, secret admirer?"

"I was just wondering what you're up to? Are you home yet? What are you wearing?"

"That was a lot of questions all at once… But yes I just got home."

"That was just a response to one of my questions, Dana Scully."

"Well, I thought it answered all three. I'm not up to anything, because I just got in. Yes, I am home. And I'm still wearing my work clothes."

"I wasn't wondering about which clothes you wear. I was wondering about your underwear."

"Mulder!" she said in surprise and he could imagine how she probably blushed, a bulge in his pants forming at the mere thought. "Are you alone in your office?"

"Yup, all alone with my filthy thoughts."

"You said it," she chuckled.

"So… what are you wearing under those work clothes, Scully?"

"Mulder…" she realized he wasn't letting up till she told him. "I'm wearing the black laced set you gave me."

"Mmh, that's really nice. Can I come over later?"

"Of course you can," she breathed down the phone.

"Actually, I have something else to ask you. Do you think we could get your parents or Ellen to look after Aidan some day this weekend?"

"We promised Aidan we'd take him to the zoo Saturday. And Aidan and I are going to mass with my parents Sunday. Maybe James can look after him Friday and bring him home Saturday around noon. He did ask if he could see him this weekend. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, that'll work," he couldn't stop the smile from spreading all over his face; for a moment he'd been afraid he'd have to wait another week to have her all for himself.

"Any reason you want to be alone?"

"So I can ravish your body?" he offered her, not telling her about his secret plans for Friday.

"Fair enough," she sighed delighted. "Oh, I need to pick up Aidan soon, I need to hang up now, Mulder."

"Oh, well I'll see you tonight, Scully. I love you."

"Yeah, see you then. I love you too, Mulder. Bye."

"Bye," he sighed deeply leaning back in his chair as she disconnected on the other end.

Yes, Mulder's head was indeed in the clouds. Little did he know it was all about to change.

XxXxX

_Scully's Apartment_

_August 31, 5.55 pm_

Mulder was late. He was supposed to be off work at 5 but he still hadn't showed up. Scully had had dinner ready for some time now. She'd looked forward to spending the night alone with Mulder, since it was something they rarely got to do. They'd last seen each other Tuesday night but since then Mulder had been very busy with work. He'd told her how they'd linked more than ten deaths to the same killer. Of course she was glad, because everyone at the bureau was very impressed with both Mulder and his partner, Willmore, at the moment. But obviously this meant more work for Mulder as well, and therefore less Mulder time for Scully.

She finished off the bread, downing the last bit, as she finally heard the doorknob turn.

"God, Scully, I'm so sorry!" he told her sincerely, entering the living room in long strides to fall to his knees in front of her.

"Mulder," she sighed and smiled, as he started kissing her wrist and up her arm, pushing her blouse out of the way as he moved further up. "You don't need to apologize, I know you're very busy with work these days."

"I hate that I can't just leave it all at 5 and come home to you," he groaned and lifted her blouse up to uncover her stomach to kiss her bare skin there, a habit he'd picked up since he learned about the pregnancy. "How's the little one?"

"It's been very lively today," she smiled greatly at the interaction between Mulder and her bare stomach. "I think it knows I've been excited to see you all day."

"Daddy's home," he whispered to the stomach, making Scully giggle.

"Your daddy is very silly," she told the life inside of her as she rubbed her belly; all the while Mulder was looking at her in awe.

"Come on, Mulder, I need to show you something," she took his hand and stood up.

"What about the food?" he asked her even though he was following her to the bedroom where she was leading him.

"We can eat afterwards, it'll only take a minute," she promised him.

Actually she hadn't planned on showing him until after dinner but she knew he'd been waiting for this and she just couldn't wait to share it with him.

She let go of his hand and turned on the lights in the room before moving to stand in front of the full-length mirror with her side to it.

"Come over here," she told him, looking at him over her shoulder; him still standing in the door.

As he came over she lifted her blouse up to show off a very small but slightly protruding pregnant belly.

"Oh, Scully!" he let out excitedly as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, running his hands over the small bump. "It's amazing."

"Yeah," she smiled and leaned back in his arms. "I discovered it this morning. I can't believe I'm showing already."

"I'm glad," he whispered and began kissing her neck.

"I knew you would be," she moaned and leaned further back into him, coming into contact with his erection. "Even though I liked it better when only my breasts had found out I was pregnant."

"They still seem to know," he whispered hoarsely into her ear as he weighed both her breasts in his hands, sending shivers through Scully's body and a pool of wetness into her panties.

"Mmh," was all she could manage to say as his hands sneaked under her blouse and bra.

Mulder loved the effects the pregnancy had on Scully's body. He'd never been unpleased with the size of Scully's breasts but he was still excited that they were changing and growing. And the small bump on her stomach; it was the single most sexy vision he could imagine – it was proof of a life growing inside of her, a life they'd made together.

Scully turned around in Mulder's arms, their lips finally meeting in a hot, passionate kiss. Gently Mulder lifted her blouse off her body. Soon followed her pants. He stepped back to take a look at the love of his life. She was absolutely beautiful. He'd never gotten that thing about pregnant women glowing before but he did now. Scully looked absolutely radiant.

"Mulder," she giggled shyly, reaching out for him as he stared at her.

"You're so beautiful, Scully," he told her, the love he felt for her showing in his deep green eyes.

"Mulder, I'm only in my underwear, you're still in your jacket, I'm feeling a bit self conscious."

"Sorry," he chuckled, shredding his jacket as Scully reached out for the belt of his pants, biting her lips as she undid it.

He could feel his erection grow even harder as she unzipped his pants, making them fall to his ankles. She looked mischievously up at him, still biting her lip, as she reached into his boxers and started stroking his rigid cock.

He stepped out of his shoes and kicked his pants away, suddenly very eager to be out of his clothes. He undid his tie and shirt and shred it as well.

Scully's skillful hand was still working its magic in his boxers as he once again claimed her lips. He had one hand at her nape to deepen the kiss while the other one was caressing her breast through her bra, flicking her nipple every now and then making her moan into their kiss.

As he unfastened her bra and moved it down her arms, she had to stop pleasing him with her hand. He bend down to his knees in front of her and kissed her breasts, her hands now in his hair as she leaned her head back and let out an excited moan as his tongue teased her nipple.

"Mulder, I'm ready," she tried to tell him through her moans, as his mouth was busy with one and his hand another breast. "God, Mulder, that feels so good!"

"Mmh," he mumbled against her soft flesh, sending thrills through her.

"Mulder, stop!" she managed to push him away slightly.

"What?" he asked her, a big smirk on his face, his hands falling to her ass.

"Cheeky," she commented as she bopped his nose with her finger before stepping out of her panties making Mulder chuckle and then gulp.

She walked over to the bed. Before lying down, she looked teasingly over her shoulder to Mulder still kneeling on the floor where she left him, his eyes following her and his shorts straining against his rock hard erection.

"Coming?" she simply asked him.

She didn't need to ask him twice. As soon as the word had left her mouth he was standing, removing his socks and boxer shorts before joining her on the bed.

"I've really missed you this week," he tells her as he settles over her, pulling her panties down and throwing them to the floor.

"Mmh, me too," she breathes as he starts to kiss her neck.

He moves his kisses down her body and she understands what he wants to do.

"No, Mulder," she tells him and tries to pull him up. "I can't wait, I want you inside of me now, please!"

"God," he groans and quickly moves up the bed, spreading her legs and settling between them.

He captures her lips once more with his own, gently opening her mouth and making love to it. His hand moves down her body to her entrance and carefully he enters two fingers into her snuck vagina. It's so hot and slick. He groans loudly and so does she as he retracts his fingers before gently pushing them back in. She puts her arms around his neck and pushes up against him, resulting in him being on his back now and Scully on her knees over him.

They smile at each other and kiss gently. His hands squeezes her ass and she grinds her wet folds up and down his hard cock, resting against his stomach. They groan in unison.

"I need to be inside you now, Scully," he whispers into her ear.

"Mmh," she agrees and lies down on him so her face is right next to his, licking and biting his sensitive earlobe, her breasts pushing against his solid chest, while she's still on her knees on the bed.

He places his feet flat on the bed and guides his erection in between her folds and into her hot and ready sex. He can't help bite his lip as only the head of his penis enters her.

"You ready?" he asks her, kissing her shoulder, placing his hands on her hips.

"God, yes," she moans.

He gently thrusts upwards entering her easily. She's so wet for him and yet so tight. He'll never tire of making love to this woman. She holds on to the bedframe above while breathing into his neck as he's now thrusting up into her again. She loves this position and how hard and big he feels.

Their pace is gentle and they are breathing loudly. She can feel her orgasm build slowly inside of her and it's amazing. She kisses his neck and chest and every inch of him she can reach.

"Fuck, you feel good, Scully," he groans as he puts his arms around her waist and spreads his legs wider on the bed so he can thrust faster up into her.

"Oh, God," she exclaims, and stills, her mouth against his ear and her sweaty forehead against his messy and wet hair.

"I love you," he groans as he thrusts even harder, the bed squeaking and the headboard bumping against the wall now.

"Mmh, love you too, oh God, yes, oh, Mulder, yes, yes, yes, harder, Mulder – oh, God, YES!" she rambles and moans as her orgasm finally explodes within her. "Gooood, Muldeeeer, YES!"

As he feels her walls clench around him and hears her declaration of love and chanting of his name, it's too much for him as well and he feels himself empty his seed into her as he groans her name loudly and involuntarily.

She falls down against his chest as her climax has passed, breathing heavily against his sweat soaked, hairy chest.

"Did you come too?" she finally asks him as she regains her breath.

"Yeah," he chuckles, spent and sleepy from the activity.

He rolls her onto her back and holds himself up on his arm, admiring her features as he looks down upon her.

"What is it?" she laughs up at him.

"God, I really love you, Scully," he sighs and moves some hair sticking to her face behind her ear.

"So you keep telling me," she smiles. "What's on your mind, Mulder?"

"I wanna marry you."

There's nearly a full minute of silence after he's dropped the bomb.

The words play on repeat inside Scully's head. Marry you… no, he couldn't have said that. Could he? She studies his face for a sign of something. Anything. Is this a joke, Mulder? Am I dreaming? Did you really just ask me if I want to marry you? All these thoughts go through Scully's mind but Mulder's face remains the same. There's a small smile on his lips and a glimmer in his eye. He's a man in love and he's dead serious.

Mulder can't believe he just asked her the big question. The secret he'd had planned for weeks. The ring was still in his jacket pocket where it had been these past nine days. He hadn't gotten down on one knee as he'd planned either. He'd just asked her. After sex. He didn't regret it though. He needed to ask her and might as well do it now, he thought. He was still waiting for a reply. She didn't seem to know whether he was serious or not. Every emotion had passed over her beautiful face for this past minute.

"Mulder…" she finally said something. "What?"

"Scully, I love you and I wanna be with you always. Marry me," he asked her again, nearly singing it this time, a big smile on his face.

"God, Mulder," she pushed him off of her and got out of the bed. "You can't just ask me that out of nowhere! Jesus, what are you thinking, Mulder?"

"But I…" Mulder was speechless.

He sat up in the bed as he watched Scully put on her underwear and an old t-shirt. It was time for him to come back down to earth and it happened with a big crash.

"I thought you felt the same way, Scully," he said as he moved to the edge of the bed.

She sat down next to him and took his hand, not meeting his eyes.

"Mulder, I love you… but marriage…" she shook her head.

"I thought you wanted to get married one day," he shrugged.

"Yeah, I do. One day…"

"So, is it me? You don't wanna marry me, is that it?" he could feel his anger rise and he let go of her hand and stood up to get dressed.

"Mulder, no! That's not it, how can you think that?" she asked him hurt.

"Well, I asked you to marry me, Scully, and you don't seem very pleased about the idea," his face was red with anger now, as he hurriedly put on his boxers and pants.

"I… I'm just very surprised, Mulder, this seems a bit out of the blue!" she said and pushed her hair out of her face.

"Scully, we're having a baby together," he stopped what he was doing and just looked at her now, making her squirm under his intense glare. "You haven't even thought about getting married?"

"So, you just wanna marry me because I'm pregnant with your child? Mulder, we don't even live together right now!"

"Fuck you, Scully!" he spat at her and picked up his shirt from the ground as he continued spewing his venom. "I live in a fucking motel room, waiting for the day you forgive me. Fuck this. Do you even really love me? Am I just somebody you fuck who happened to knock you up?"

"Mulder…" she had never seen him like this before and she could feel her tears trailing down her face. "I thought you knew how I feel about you."

"I thought I knew," he huffed. "Apparently I have no fucking clue."

She had no idea what to say or how to fix this. Within minutes her whole life had been flipped upside down it seemed. She tried to stop crying but she couldn't. She dried her eyes and when she looked up Mulder was picking up his shoes and leaving the bedroom, already wearing his dress pants and shirt.

"Mulder, wait, where are you going?" she yelled out as she ran after him.

"Scully, we already fucked tonight, so what do you care where I go now?" he bellowed, anger and hurt so evident in his voice.

"Mulder, please," she begged him as he was standing in front of the door now, putting on his shoes. "Stay, let's talk about this!"

"I…" he was just about to throw another rude comment at her when he saw the tears in her eyes. No matter how much she'd hurt him, he couldn't do this to her. He sighed and let his head fall. "I'll be back later."

"Where are you going?" she asked him again, as he was halfway out the door, putting on his shoes.

"I don't know," he told her without even looking at her before closing the door in front of her.

XxXxX

_The Old Irish Bar_

_September 1, 1.22 am_

Mulder had been furious and had been driving around for nearly an hour before realizing that what he really needed and wanted was a drink. He tried not to think of the way his own father had turned to a bottle of Jim Beam after his sister's abduction, as he ordered a shot of the same brand of whiskey as he entered the small but neat place and sat down at the bar.

There were a few other guests at the bar this Friday, about fifteen or so, all engrossed in quiet conversation among themselves.

"Bad day?" the bartender asked him as he poured him his fourth shot of Jim Beam.

"You could say that," Mulder nodded and sipped at the delicious liquid in his glass.

He drank his drinks slowly, thinking the night's events over in his head, and didn't feel very drunk, albeit not quite sober either.

"Ah, lady trouble, I can spot it a mile away," the kind bartender gave him a smile of sympathy.

Mulder looked up at the stranger and took in his appearance for the first time since entering the bar. He was tall and largely build, with short black hair and bright blue eyes. He had a smile edged onto his face, seemingly a happy man, only a scar above his left eye, splitting his eyebrow, broke the illusion of a otherwise perfect exterior.

"Lady trouble? I guess you could call it that," Mulder sighed and shook his head.

"I've been there myself, all I can tell you is; it gets better," he smiled at him.

"Well, this might be a bit more complicated than your classic story of lost love," Mulder said as he took another sip of his drink.

"It always seems to be," the bartender nodded in understanding. "What's your story, Mr. ehm?"

"Mulder, my name is Mulder," he told him, giving the bartender his hand to shake.

"Hi, Mulder, I'm Niall," he shook his hand as he leaned against the bar.

"Nice to meet you, Niall," Mulder gave him a small smile.

Before long Mulder had told this stranger all about how much he loved Scully and how she'd said no to marry him. How he lived in a motel room, waiting for the day she would let him live with her and Aidan again. How he feared if he'd ever get to live with his own child now he knew how she felt.

"Women," the bartender Niall shook his head as Mulder was done with his side of the story.

"Yeah," Mulder took another drink, suddenly feeling awful – he was well aware he hadn't told this stranger the whole truth and that he'd certainly let out some truths about himself.

Suddenly he didn't feel worthy of Scully. He had flashbacks of how he'd spoken to her earlier and felt sick to his stomach.

"Excuse me, Niall, I'm gonna go use the little boys' room," he managed to get out before heading to the bathrooms and vomiting into a toilet.

He splashed some water to his face before going back out to pay his bill.

"I should head home, Niall, thanks for listening," he said as he grabbed his wallet from his pocket and threw a few bills on the bar. "Keep the change."

"You're not driving home are you?" Niall called after him.

"Oh," Mulder stopped in his tracks. "No, that's probably not a very good idea."

"Sit down, Mulder, I'll call you a cab," Niall patted the place at the bar where Mulder had been residing most of the night before grabbing the phone behind the bar and calling a number.

Mulder sat down and swallowed the rest of the drink he'd left.

"Hey, Mulder, the cab driver wants to know; where are you going?" Niall asked him, holding his hand over the phone.

Mulder thought for a few seconds; would he go home to his empty motel room or home to Scully who'd probably be waiting for him? He finally gave him Scully's address. He was going to try and make it all good again. She was having his baby, for Christ's sake! So what if she wasn't ready for marriage? He had asked her at a very odd time and he'd even taken himself by surprise.

While he waited for the cab, Niall got him another drink – on the house – and told him about his own ex-wife and how she refused to let him see his own kid. Mulder felt sorry for Niall and didn't dare tell him how much he'd exaggerated with his own story.

Finally his cab arrived. Mulder got in and fastened the seatbelt as the driver took off into the night.

"Where are we headed this fine evening?" the driver asked him kindly.

Mulder happily gave him Scully's address as he imagined cuddling up to her in bed and whispering apologies to her. He just hoped she'd forgive him.

Mulder noticed a grey van pulling out of the parking lot behind the bar at the same time they started driving. Its one headlight didn't work properly and was only letting out a low yellow light.

The cab driver made small conversation as they went along. Mulder happily engaged in conversation, feeling slightly intoxicated still by his many shots of whiskey.

They made a turn and Mulder recognized this street; they were only about five minutes from Scully now. As they turned, he caught a glimpse of another car behind them though; a grey van with one bright headlight and another one only letting out a low yellow light.

His heart skipped a beat and at once he seemed to sober up. A profile of the victims which murders they were solving seemed to be producing itself in his head; they were all lonely people who nobody had missed before they turned up dead. They were the kind of people you'd meet late at night in a bar, making conversation with the bartender. Most of them had been divorced and others just gone through a major break-up with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Mulder could see Niall as he'd talked about his ex-wife. There'd been such hate in his eyes. When Mulder had told him about his problems; Niall had been so absorbed in his story.

Mulder didn't have time to think; they were at Scully's apartment now. Mulder paid the cab driver and got out. He quickly walked towards the entry to the apartment building but before he could reach it a grey van pulled up.

Niall got out of the car and seemed surprised that Mulder didn't come over. Instead Mulder ran towards the door, only to have Niall running after him. He reached the door and opened it only to feel Niall grasp his arm and stick a needle into his neck.

"Ow fuck!" Mulder exclaimed as he injected something into him.

He could instantly feel the effect of the drug he'd been given. Still he managed to elbow Niall in the face before falling to the ground. Think, Mulder! Think quickly! he tried to tell himself. But before long everything went black. Only the name of Scully escaping his lips before darkness engulfed him.


End file.
